The Heart of an Uchiha boy
by Nicolah2009
Summary: She woke in a strange place, taken by a man with silver hair, given a new name, and now some dumb Uchiha kid was calling her weak. She would show him, and maybe find love in the process....SasukeXOC, R&R, flamies welcome, but nice ones
1. Chapter 1

**_Yay! I'm excited, new story! I hope you all like it! R&R please._**

**_Summary: She woke up in a new world, with no memory. She was handed off to a man with silver hair and given a new name: Kaede. And now she's on a team with an annoying blond, an eager girl, and a stubborn Uchiha boy. But as time progresses, and she gets to know them all better, she finds that the stubborn Uchiha boy might just have the heart of a romantic underneath is strong, forced outer cover. SasukeXOC_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters, ect...sadly. :(_**

**_CHAPTER ONE: Sunlight, a gray haired man, and three odd ninjas

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The light shone unmercifully in her eyes, and she fought to keep them closed. The longer she tried to force them closed, though, the worse her headache seemed to become, so she opened them.

Curtains, stark white curtains were pulled back to reveal a shining, sunny day. The sunlight illuminated the white and blue tiled floor, the white walls, and the metal machines that were beeping ominously to her left. She swallowed; nothing in this room looked familiar. _Nothing._

She tried to move her legs, but found them weak. She wiggled her left foot to check its mobility, and she bit back a scream; pain shot all through her foot and ankle when she'd moved it. She chewed on her lip, waiting patiently for the pain to subside. When it had, she reached up with her right arm to run a hand through her hair.

This time, a small screech escaped her lips. What felt like white hot needles coursed through her upper arm and shoulder. Tears brimmed in the corners of her eyes, but she impatiently brushed them away with her left hand.

Why was she hurting so much? Why were her leg and shoulder injured? And why would the persistent throbbing in her head go away?

With a bang, the door to the room opened and she jumped, startled. She jerked back, and the IV she hadn't know was in her arm tore out. Another cry came from her throat—what was going on?—and she grabbed onto her arm, which in turn caused more pain to spread throughout her shoulder. This time, the tears flew freely.

Two of the persons who had entered, nurses, grabbed onto her wrists and tried to force her back down. She screamed, the sound tearing through the small room, and wrestled free, numb from fear and oblivious to the pain. She stumbled on tired, sleepy legs, tripping over her own feet.

The third person who'd entered, a man, grabbed her with one arm and held her tightly to his chest.

She fought tooth and nail, screaming, kicking, flailing, and spitting out more curse words than she ever thought she had known. Eventually, after a few minutes of struggle, she felt the fatigue wash over her, and she went limp.

His tone solemn and calm, the man said, "Better?"

She nodded, unable to speak. The man set her down on the ground and allowed her to lean against him for support. He looked straight at her, and she realized the oddity of his clothing.

A black mask covered his face, just above his nose, and only one eye was showing. The left eye was covered with part of some band, a forehead protector, with a strange symbol carved onto it. Underneath an olive green vest were black pants and a black long sleeve shirt, both rather baggy. Gloves with the fingers cut out adorned his hands, while a strange leather pouch was strapped around his right leg. Wraps were around the visible part of his legs, and black sandals were on his feet.

Where on earth was she?  
"What's your name?"

She jumped again, startled by the man's voice, and jostled her shoulder again. She cringed, but still looked up at the man's face, unfazed. Then, when she got to thinking about his question, she gasped. What was her name? She couldn't remember her name, her own name! She couldn't remember anything! Tears threatened to fall again, and she had not the energy to fight back.

The salty tears fell freely from her eyes, dripping down her face and off her chin to land on the ground beneath her.

"I'm sorry," the man apologized, tilting her chin up so she had to look at him. "I suppose I should've introduced myself first. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I'm a Jounin-level ninja."

This so startled her that she stopped crying. A ninja?

"Would you like to tell me your name?" the one called Hatake Kakashi asked again, as calm and collected as ever.

She gulped and stared into his one eye. Her throat was so dry—she feared she wouldn't be able to talk. But she had to try.

"Can't," she choked out. She tried to form the word. "Re…Reme…Remember."

"Ah," Hatake Kakashi said, kneeling in front of her. "Well, why don't we give you a name?" She looked at him, amazed. "Yes, how about Kaede? It means 'leaf,' and we are in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, after all."

She nodded slowly, wondering wildly what the Village Hidden in the Leaves was. The name of the hospital, maybe? "Kaede," she said, trying the name out. She smiled for the first time, a small smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"Good," Hatake Kakashi agreed, his eye tilting up in what she assumed to be a smile. He stood. "I'll have one of the nurses bring you clothes. Come out in the hall once you're changed; I'll be waiting for you out there, and I'll take you somewhere that you can stay, OK?"

"OK," she said, and as if on cue, a nurse walked in with an armful of clothes accompanied by a pair of shoes.

Hesitantly, she studied the odd clothes. A corduroy skirt with a black belt, a black shirt without sleeves that zipped over a white spaghetti strap, white wraps, black gloves with the fingers cut out, and a pair of black sandals.

She blinked, tilted her head to the side, and looked up at the nurse. The nurse giggled and smiled.

"Go ahead, put them on," the nurse said.

With a grunt, she glared at the nurse and the woman left the room. Carefully, she took off the hospital gown she was wearing and pulled on the odd clothes. Then, after a few moments of searching, she found the bathroom and looked for a hairbrush and deodorant. Once found, she brushed out her tangled hair, tied it up with a scrunchie she'd discovered, and put on some deodorant.

She swallowed, lightly noticing how the clothes showed off her slim figure, and left the room. Hatake Kakashi, as promised, was waiting for her. He motioned for her to follow him out of the hospital, and she did.



The newly named Kaede walked next to Hatake Kakashi, her eyes wide as she took in the strange setting around her. People were walking, just walking, through the city. She even caught a glimpse of some jumping from house to house. _Jumping! _She looked up at the man with gray hair next to her. He glanced down at her, and seemed to smile encouragingly.

Suddenly, a suspicious thought came to Kaede. Why did she trust this man? She didn't know a think about him, or what he was capable of. He'd shown great strength before, in the hospital, and was constantly calm, as if he knew nothing could hurt him. What was his deal? Kaede didn't know, but from now on, she would have to be on her guard about him.

Hatake Kakashi suddenly placed a hand on her shoulder and halted her. Kaede stared up at him, wondering what he was getting at.

"You know, I'm not going to hurt you," he said, watching her carefully. "I'm not going to hurt you. But I can understand your suspicions," he added. "You have no memory, you don't know anything about the place that you're in, and you're walking around with a strange man. Let's go have some ramen and I'll explain some things to you."

Blinking, Kaede allowed Hatake Kakashi to steer her into a little shop whose name she didn't care to notice. The man and girl working the store smiled as they exchanged greetings with Hatake Kakashi.

"And who's this?" the elderly man asked, smiling at Kaede as if she were a little child. "I don't believe I've seen her before."

Kaede fought the urge to stick her tongue out at the man; she wasn't that childish. Instead, she introduced herself. "My name's….Kaede?" She looked up at Hatake Kakashi for confirmation, and he nodded encouragingly. "Yeah, Kaede."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Kaede," the elderly man said, and went back to his cooking. A few moments later, two steaming bowls of noodles were in front of Kaede and her escort, or whatever he was.

While Hatake Kakashi eagerly dug in, Kaede stared at the noodles. She picked up the chopsticks, unsure of how to use them. Hatake Kakashi saw her dilemma, and showed her the proper way to hold and use the chopsticks. She smiled gratefully, too a bit of the noodles, and immediately started gobbling them up. The elderly man and the young woman behind the counter looked on in amazement.

"She could give Naruto a run for his money!" the girl said, staring wide eyed as she watched Kaede start on a second bowl.

Hatake Kakashi chuckled. "Don't tell Naruto that. I've haven't introduced them yet, and I don't want them to start out on a bad foot."

When the man and the woman went back to their cooking, Hatake Kakashi turned to Kaede.

"I know you don't know the formalities of this place, or what to call me. So you can call me Kakashi, OK?" Kaede nodded, slurping up some more of the delicious ramen. "Good. Now, I want you to listen very carefully to what I have to say. I'm going to explain to you about this village, and the other villages around it, and about the ninja culture, life, and ranks." Once Kaede had said a firm "yes," Kakashi was off.

It was a while before Kakashi had finished his little speech, but as soon as he was finished, Kaede understood.

Ninjas were the fighters of Kohnoha, the village that they were in, also called the Village Hidden in the Leaves. There were many, many villages, such as the Waterfall, the Sand, and the most hated: The Sound. The Hokage, the leader of the Leaf Village, was Tsunade, one of the three legendary sannin. And the more Kakashi talked and explained, the more Kaede began to see her part in it all. She was to be trained as a kunoichi, a female ninja, and was to join Team seven, Kakashi's team.

When Kakashi was done speaking, he payed for the ramen and led Kaede off. Kaede knew where they were going; not the exact place, but they were going to meet the other members of Team seven. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke.



The rest of the walk through Kohnoha was uneventful. Kakashi greeted a few people on the street, but didn't stay to talk. Kaede had the feeling that Kakashi was late, and that it happened often.

It wasn't long before the two reached the bridge, and Kaede could see the three ninja that were to be her teammates. One of them was bouncing around like a tennis ball, apparently eager to get going. That one had blond hair, and an orange jacket and pants on. He wore his headband on his forehead, not titled like Kakashi's. The second boy also wore his headband on his forehead, but was standing indifferently, leaning against the bridge railings and telling the blond one to shut up.

The third, a girl with pink hair—_pink hair!_—was trying to prevent the two boys from getting into a fight.

Kakashi cleared his throat, and the blond and the pink haired girl turned to him. They shouted, "YOU'RE LATE!"

Sheepishly, Kakashi tried to explain. "I'm sorry, I was getti—," but was interrupted by the two ninja's, who shouted,

"LIAR!"

The kid with the black hair just muttered a, "Hn."

"Actually," Kakashi said, putting a hand on Kaede's shoulder. "I'm not lying, for once."  
"Yeah, for once," the blond mumbled, crossing his arms. The girl hit him upside the head, and he yowled.

"Shut up, Naruto!" she hissed. "Let him talk!"

"Anyway," Kakashi said loudly. "I was picking up your new teammate. I want you all to be very nice to her, and welcome her into the team. She's a complete amateur, but she had spunk and promise, so they chose me to be her sensei, which means you have to behave yourselves." He pushed Kaede forward a little, and she looked at the ground, nervous. "Go ahead, introduce yourself."

Afraid, Kaede still stared at her feet. Kakashi had made her sound like a little kid, a "complete amateur" as he put it. The whole part about her being spunky and having promise didn't make her feel any better, either. What was she doing here? A sudden urge to go back to hospital and sleep came over her, and she turned to leave. She wasn't going to be a ninja; she didn't know the first thing about it! But Kakashi wouldn't let her leave. He spun her back around, forcing her to look at the three ninja on the bridge.

And he kept his hand firmly on her shoulder, and lightly squeezed it. "Go on. Tell them your name," he said, more strictly this time.

She nodded slowly and said, "Kaede."

And suddenly, a blond, whiskered boy was in from of her face, his hands linked behind his head. "Hi! I'm Naruto! And I'm going to be the next Hokage. Believe it!"

Astounded, Kaede just stared at him, unable to believe this kid's nerve. She raised an eyebrow, trying to understand the boy.

"Erm, hi?"

"Naruto, let her breath!" The girl with the pink hair grabbed Naruto by the collar and threw him back. Kaede looked on in astonishment, amazed at the girl's strength. "Sorry about Naruto, he's just eager," she apologized. The girl held out her hand and smiled. "I'm Sakura. It's nice to meet you."

Kaede nervously shook her hand before glancing at the quiet, indifferent boy. He merely nodded at her, and she nodded back, somehow understanding that he wasn't one to talk.

"Oh," Sakura said, grabbing Kaede's hand and pulling her over to the boy. "This is Uchiha Sasuke. He's the strongest member of our team."

"Yeah, right! I could beat him any day of the weak!" Naruto announced confidently, scowling.

"Sure you could, dobe," Uchiha Sasuke said, startling Kaede. She hadn't realized he could actually speak! "You'd better not be weak," he added to her, and she growled low in her throat. How dare he!

"You may have more experience then me," Kaede said, her courage suddenly rising, "But you'll see. Once I get up to your level, I'll beat the shit out of you faster than you can blink, Uchiha."

Naruto and Sakura looked at her as if she was a crazy person, but she glared at Sasuke, and he glared right back. Neither of them averted their gazes; black eyes stared into hazel eyes.

Kakashi smiled as he watched them. _I had thought she would give Sasuke a run for his money. She's got a lot of nerve talking back to him like that, but then again, she doesn't know him, and isn't afraid of him. _He chuckled to himself. _Yes, in a few weeks time, Kaede will be right up there with Sasuke. She might even beat him._




	2. Chapter 2

**_YAY! Second chapter! I'm on a roll, don't stop me now! Lol. Thanks So SO SOSOOOO much to my reviewers, who prompted me to make a seocnd chapter. Here u go!_**

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It wasn't long before Kaede fit in with Team Seven, and had caught up to Sakura's level of ninja skill. The pink-haired kunoichi was very skilled with Genjutsu and her chakra, and was a good friend to Kaede, who appreciated her company more than the other girl would ever know. 

Four weeks had passed since their first introduction, and those weeks had been filled with training, hanging out, and more training. Kaede had learned a lot of things from all three of her team members.

First, she'd learned how to control her chakra and to recognize Genjutsu from Sakura, who had awesome control of her own. Second, Naruto had taught her his own special technique, Shadow Clones. And finally, Sasuke had taught her—although he hadn't realized it—how to throw kunais and shurikens correctly, and how to track and predict another ninja's moves.

That day, a Saturday, the four teammates were headed out for a day of relaxation at the lake, which of course meant that they were going to practice their chakra control by walking on water.

Even Sasuke needed work in that department, Kaede mused, as they walked placidly down the trail. She and Sakura were leading the way, while Naruto and Sasuke argued behind them. Well, Naruto was doing most of the arguing. Sasuke was trying to ignore the ramen-loving blond.

"Will you two CUT IT OUT!" Sakura yelled, stopping and turning around. Her pink hair was turning red from irritation, Kaede thought. She giggled to herself, wondering when Sakura was going to hit Naruto this time.

"We wouldn't be arguing if Sasuke wasn't such a self-absorbed creep!" Naruto defended himself, indignant. He placed his hands on his hips and glared at the dark haired Uchiha.

"Maybe we could get along if SOMEONE would keep their mouth shut!" Sasuke shot back, finally angered. Kaede smirked; thank goodness that Sasuke was getting it all out.

"I wouldn't have to talk so much if YOU'D learn to talk and not just say 'hn' all the time!!" Naruto snarled. Sakura raised her hand to hit him, aggravated, but Kaede stepped between the two.

"Stop it," she said calmly, grabbing Sakura's wrist and lowering her fist. "We are almost there, so let's get there and you can drown each other in the lake."  
And she started walking. It wasn't long before she heard footsteps scuffling after her, but only two pairs. The third pair of feet walked slowly. _Sasuke._



"Ugh! Naruto! If you splash me one more time, then I'll—ahh!" A huge splash was heard, and Naruto's unmistakable giggle followed.

Kaede rolled her eyes, disgusted. Sakura had been standing on top of the water, while Naruto swam beneath and splashed her at will. She'd been yelling at him for the past twenty minutes, Kaede remembered. Then, when Sakura had been about to make her last threat, Naruto dragged her by her ankles under the water.

Sasuke grunted as he lay on the shore, irritated by his two teammates' childish behavior. Kaede only half-agreed with him. She thought their antics were kiddish, but she was anxious to see what Sakura would do to Naruto when they resurfaced.

"AHHHHHH! NARUTO!!!"

_There she is._

Sakura grabbed Naruto by the hair and dragged him out of the water. She tossed him on the shore, shaking in anger. Then, to everyone's surprise, she started to giggle. Her head leaned back and she laughed out loud, hooting with chuckles.

Sasuke and Kaede looked at each other. They silently wondered what was wrong with Sakura and what Naruto had slipped into her water bottle.

It wasn't long before Kaede was biting her lip to keep from laughing along with Sakura and Naruto. Saturdays were always good days, she reminded herself, and cracked a small smile. If her friends could laugh when they were angry at each other, she could laugh even if Sasuke thought it was ditzy and stupid.

So she let herself laugh.

Sasuke glanced at her, momentarily started. She ignored him, hugging her ribs and fighting to stand while she laughed. It felt good, really, to laugh again. Sure, she had chuckled here and there in the past four weeks, but mostly her time had been spent training and brooding about who she really was and where she came from. Oh, well. There would be time for that _after_ today.



That evening, after all the fun was over, after most people had decided to curl up at home and read a good book, Kaede was still outside. She was in the middle of a field surrounded by trees, staring up at the moon. It was so huge, and its secrets were unknown. It mystified her, but somehow calmed her. The moon reminded her of herself, how no one knew her past, her history, her name even. She didn't recall any of it, either, and she was sure that the moon's history went farther back than her own.

If the secrets of the moon hadn't been found out in all of that time, what were the chances of her discovering her own past?

Kaede sighed, and lay back on the dewy grass. She wasn't tired at all, even after the day's antics. Once they had all dried off and were on their way back, Naruto challenged everyone to a race. Of course, Sasuke had shrugged and shot off, but Kaede hadn't been fooled by him. She caught up to him, and tied with the Uchiha. He wouldn't forgive her for that, she mused smugly.

Course, Sasuke wasn't the kind of guy to show his emotions. He was, mostly, stoic and indifferent to those around him. Kaede knew that he possessed the Sharingan; he wasn't shy to tell people about that. But something about him just irked her, and stirred something inside of her that she couldn't shake off.

She growled, and kicked her legs up in frustration. There it was again, that burning, tightening feeling in her chest, as if it were swelling and knotting at the same time. Why wouldn't it go away? She didn't know what it meant, and why it was there, but she knew that she wanted it gone.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?"

The genin's calm, indifferent voice startled Kaede, but had a calming affect at the same time.

She smiled lightly, somewhat pleased at his intrusion. "Shouldn't you?"

"Hn," he muttered and walked up next to her. In the moonlight, his hair was highlighted and the shadows on his face were more evident. She forced herself to look at the moon, not at Sasuke.

They were there, in silence, for a good amount of time before anyone spoke. Kaede found herself enjoying the Uchiha's company, despite her competitiveness towards him. His silence didn't mean anything; that was just his personality.

Finally, Sasuke sat down next to her, and she sat up, her arms and chin resting on her knees.

"Why do you come here every night?" Sasuke asked suddenly. Kaede looked up at him, startled. How did he know that she like to stay in the field at night?

"How did you know I came here?" she queried, glancing over at him before staring back at the moon.

Sasuke followed her gaze and leaned back on his hands. "It's beautiful," he murmured, his eyes taking on a glaze as he stared at the silver orb. "When I was younger, I used to watch the moon all the time. It was like a comfort to me, because it didn't know what would happen to it, and neither did I." He sighed. "I don't know why I'm telling you this."

"No, it's fine," Kaede said. "The moon is a beautiful thing. I love to come here every night and watch it, just because it represents so much."

Silence followed her words, but neither of them cared. They just stared at the big, silver moon, each contemplating their own meanings of it. Sasuke saw it as an orb that represented the unknown future. Kaede imagined it to show the unknown of the past, of her past.

For what felt like hours, but was really minutes, they sat there, content in each others company, until Sasuke stood up abruptly.

Kaede looked at him, noticing how his entire demeanor had changed. He was no longer the boy staring at the moon, expressing his feelings in so many words. Now he was cold, stony-faced, and emotionally controlled. She let him go, and went back to staring at the moon.

She barely heard his footsteps across the grass, but they soon faded away. Her eyes began to fill with tears, and she didn't know why. Impatiently, she brushed them away. Crying wasn't an option with her. For some reason, Sasuke walking away brought a horrible feeling to her chest, and it felt like it was going to collapse in sorrow.

_"Why do you come here every night?" _he had asked, and she hadn't answered him directly. Instead, she'd asked him a question.

_"How did you know I came here?" _

Kaede rolled over on the grass, laying her head on her arm. She sniffled and swallowed the lump in her throat. As she closed her eyes, fatigue finally washing over her, she sadly came to realize that neither of their questions had been answered. Not in words, she reminded herself, but both of them knew the answers.



Kaede's eyes snapped open. She groaned, her limbs stiff. There was something warm and soft on top of her. What was it? She closed her eyes again, not wanting to wake up. The bed was so soft, so comfortable—wait, bed?!

This time, she woke fully, sitting up with a start. She was in a room with light brown, wooden walls, lying on someone's bed. Quickly, Kaede tossed the warm blanket off her legs and bounded off the bed. It was then that she realized she was in a pair of shorts and a shirt…just like…oh, God.

She ran to the door and burst through it. Running a hand through her messy brown hair, she rushed down the hall, trying to find whoever was in here, although she had an inkling of who it was.

Then, she stopped, listening. She heard a shower running somewhere, but where? There, that door!

Kaede crept over to the slightly open door, and peeked through the crack. Inside, on the sink, she saw a black, high-collared shirt with the red and white Uchiha symbol on it, and a pair of black shorts. She grimaced, knowing for sure now who was in the shower.

The shower turned off, and she heard someone step out. With a small cry, she jumped back and skittered down the hall again. This time, she ended up in a big room, the living room, she assumed. There she collapsed against the wall, sinking to the floor and hugging her knees. What had he done? What had he _seen_? Why was she here, in his house, wearing his clothes? What had happened to her, how did she get into his bed?

Bare feet padded down the hall towards the living room, and she tensed. Those feet stopped at the door, slid it open, and came in.

There stood Uchiha Sasuke, in his black shirt and shorts, his hair wet and flattened over his face. He nodded to her as he entered, and when he looked down, she saw the slightest hint of a blush.

She got to her feet, anger flashing in her hazel eyes.

"What do you think you were doing, Uchiha?" she asked menacingly. "Where are my clothes? What did you do with them? Would you TALK, Sasuke!"

Sasuke turned toward her, his expression angry. "Maybe if you'd learn to be a little more appreciative then I would have more to say." They glared at each other.

"Where are my clothes?" she asked, just as he said,

"I didn't see anything."

There was an awkward pause, in which Sasuke turned his gaze back to the floor, shuffling his feet nervously. This in turn astonished Kaede to the point where her anger subsided. Was the famous Uchiha being shy and ashamed? No, it couldn't be?

"They're in the bathroom, they're a little dirty. You were asleep in the field, on the ground, so they got wet and muddy. You're going to have to wear that home and get some other clothes." With that Sasuke went into a room just off the living room, and closed the door behind him.

Kaede stood there, shocked beyond belief. Sasuke had taken her out of the field, changed her clothes, and given her a bed to sleep on. But how had he changed her and not seen anything?

She sat on the floor again, her brain whirring crazily. There was a part of her that wanted to be excited about this, but she just felt awkward and nervous. She'd only know the boy for a few weeks, and he had done so much for her already. Why?

She sighed, and stood up. Well, if Sasuke wanted to be that way, then fine. She could shrug the incident off and keep going, too. It wasn't hard to find the front door, where her shoes were sitting next to Sasuke's bigger ones. She slipped them on, walked outside, and started to jog home. There was something about the Uchiha district, the empty, desolate place that sent chills up her spine, and she wanted out of there as fast as she could go.



The next day, Monday, Kaede was at the bridge earlier that everyone else. She stared down at the water rushing underneath, watching her reflection ripple and tear under the current.

She hadn't seen Sasuke since Sunday morning, which in truth wasn't that unusual, but she would have expected him to come looking for his clothes back. Of course, they fit her pretty well, so they should be small for Sasuke, who was taller.

With a sigh, Kaede turned around, leaning her back against the railing. Whatever suited the Uchiha, she supposed. She'd have to ask Kakashi or Sakura what was up with his attitude. Course, Sakura was Sasuke's fan-girl, so she'd probably say that his demeanor was what made him cool. Kakashi, on the other hand, might go more in-depth into the mind of Uchiha Sasuke, if he felt it right to share.

Kaede stared up at the sky, looking at a bird flying across the sky. She sighed again, wishing that she could fly away, without a care, just soaring through the big blue wonder above. She swallowed, that feeling of sorrow resurfacing. Tears brimmed in the corners of her eyes, and she fought them back fiercely. She would not cry, no. It would just prove Sasuke's comment about her being weak.

She swallowed again, this time to force the lump in her throat back down. But it stuck. Again she tried, and it still wouldn't go away. The tears wouldn't lose this time, she figured. She might as well let them flow.

And she did.

The hot, salty tears ran freely down her cheeks, stinging her soft skin, and dripping off her chin to land on the ground. She breathed in gasps, the pressure on her chest so fierce that it felt as if it were crushing her lungs. Why she was so sad, she didn't know. The image of Sasuke walking away kept coming back to her, kept reappearing in her mind, replaying over and over again.

A sigh rocked her body. She laid her arms on the railing and buried her face in them. Her arms became warm and wet from the tears still coming. She was so terribly sad, but she had no idea why. She wanted to find his warm, welcoming arms, wrap herself in them, and cry into his comforting shoulder.

And suddenly, she was there. There were strong, kind arms wrapped around her shoulders, her face buried in this persons shoulder. The person felt, smelled, seemed familiar, but she couldn't place him. All she knew was that it _was _a guy. She hiccupped, ashamed at her behavior. Then, the person spoke.

"Shh…don't cry. It's OK, don't cry."

Her eyes widened, then squinted shut, the tears still coming. She knew who this was….it was…._him._


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay, my third chapter! I'm so excited, lol. Thanks to all my reviewers. And this chapter takes a turn no one would expect a SasukeXOC fanfic to turn. I love you all!**

**Love**

**StoicNinja2009**

* * *

Kaede leaned into him, breathing in his scent. She didn't know him that well, and yet, here he was, comforting her while she cried her eyes out. Her heart thudded in her chest; the sorrowful feeling was being replaced with another she could not identify, only by the familiar swelling and tightening sensation.

_Uchiha Sasuke._

She bit her lip to try and stop the sobs, and pulled back reluctantly from Sasuke's grasp. Her hazel eyes met dark ones, dark ones that were filled with concern. The Uchiha's outer cover, his strong, indifferent demeanor had diminished, leaving a softer, kinder side behind.

"Sasuke," she murmured, moving back to arms length, her eyes searching Sasuke's face. He looked down at her, his lips tilting up in a hint of a smile.

"Better?"

A new glint in his eyes, something she hadn't seen before, caught her attention. She couldn't really describe it; if she had to, she would say it was something like care or worry or even…nah, impossible. But nonetheless, it was there.

She swallowed. "Yeah."

No sooner than the word was out of her mouth than the cold, dark, indifferent glare came back in Sasuke's eyes. He let go of her arms, turned away, and shoved his hands in his pockets, a smirk plastered on his face.

"Good," he snipped darkly, staring at the ground, his onyx hair shading his eyes. "I can't have someone as weak as that on my team."

Kaede's eyes widened in shock. What had he just said?!

"What?!"

Sasuke's smirk widened. "Hn," he muttered, glancing every-so-slightly in her direction. "You heard me. You'd better toughen up or you're going to slow us down. Even Sakura can hold herself together."

The fury was building up fast, Kaede couldn't stop it, and she didn't want to. How dare he speak to her with such…such….ugh! She couldn't even think of the word she was so mad! That rotten, disgusting, sorry excuse for a ninja! She'd tear that smirk off his face for sure.

Kaede was visibly shaking; her eyes narrowed dangerously, Sasuke's infinite calm infuriating her even more. He just stood there, hands in his pockets, eyes staring at the ground. His face was unreadable, the picture of serenity. Kaede clenched her fists, glaring at the cool, collected ninja. Already she was envisioning his downfall, her kunai at his throat, his urgent plea for mercy.

She shivered, the thrill of that image pumping adrenaline through her veins. Her breathing became ragged, and she forced herself to turn away from Sasuke. If she attacked him now, something bad was bound to happen. She knew she wasn't strong enough yet, but she knew that she would be soon.

"Hey, teme!"

Naruto's annoying voice could pierce through the thickest of walls, Kaede concluded, and took a deep, rattling breath before plastering a too-wide smile on her face and turning to greet Naruto.

"Oh, hi, Naruto," she said brightly, waving. "Where's Sakura?"

Confused for a moment, then smiling, Naruto replied, "She's not feeling very well today so she didn't come. I went to get her but she just threw something at me. I think it was the clock or somethin'." He chuckled sheepishly, and Kaede could just see a small red mark where the clock had hit him on the head.

She stifled back a giggle, in spite of her anger, and patted the blond on the back. "Yeah, I think I know why she's a little under the weather."

Naruto stared at her, intrigued, but she wouldn't say any more. Kaede sighed and sat down on the wood of the bridge, trying to calm her whirling mind.

First he comforts her, then calls her weak. Why would he do that? Oh, and he compared her to _Sakura_, of all people. For goodness sakes, Sakura cried if the sun went behind a cloud! Not that she didn't _like_ Sakura; the other kunoichi was her best friend. But calling her a bigger cry baby? That was crossing the line.

She could feel her anger creeping up on her again, and she squeezed her eyes shut to concentrate on forcing it back. She did not want to let her temper flare. It would be best if she just kept herself calm. The small amount of time that she'd been conscious of her existence in this world, she had come to realize the extent of her temper. And that temper was what had pushed her to practice so hard.

Considering that she had no idea what other life she might have had, ninja was the only thing she knew. So she worked hard at it, despite Sasuke's constant accusations that she was weak and useless and would never amount to anything.

Her hazel eyes drifted over to where Sasuke stood stoic and calm as ever. She averted her gaze to Naruto, and the blond smiled at her.

"Hey, Kaede," he said, bounding over to sit next to her.

"Hmm?" Kaede mumbled, looking at the hyper ninja. His blue eyes danced eagerly as he flashed a bright smile.

"Wanna train with me today?" Naruto looked so eager that Kaede couldn't refuse. Besides, that would leave Sasuke without a partner, which meant he'd have to train with Kakashi, of all people.

Kaede grinned devilishly. "Sure, Naruto." She cracked her knuckles. "Get ready to get your butt kicked."

"Oh, you're on now!" Naruto tackled her right there, catching her by surprise. She landed hard on the wooden bridge, her back slamming onto the rough surface. Naruto was wrestling her hands down to the ground. Oh, that was so not going to happen.

She brought her knees to her chest, curled her feet back so the soles were facing the blonde's stomach, and rammed them into his sensitive tummy. Naruto coughed as he was sent flying backwards, but he stood up gamely, and came rushing back.

His fist landed on her jaw, and her head jerked back from the force of it. Blindly reaching out with her hands, she latched onto Naruto's wrist and took him down with her. The small of her back hit the railing, and, unable to stop herself or Naruto, they both fell over the side of the bridge and into the cold river beneath.

Kaede surfaced quickly, spitting water out of her mouth. Naruto appeared next to her, laughing uncontrollably. She joined him in his fit of giggles, dipping her head backwards into the water to make her hair flatten out of her face. Just as she'd blinked the cool liquid out of her eyes and come into focus, a splash of water met her head-on. Taken aback, Kaede coughed and spluttered, her hands wildly waving in front of her face.

Once she calmed down, she glared at Naruto, who was giggling—again. "Oh-ho, you're in for it now, Uzumaki!"

Growling low in her throat, Kaede lunged at Naruto, sending them both tumbling into the small, chilly waves. She wrestled with him, fighting to keep his head underwater, but his weight and strength was proving greater than her own. The blonde fought the restraining hands on his shoulders, kicking and flailing, finally able to push her off, and found himself on top this time. But he was more merciful than she, and let her sit up.

Both breathing hard from their little struggle, they smiled. "Tie," they chorused, and chuckled.

Suddenly, they were being lifted into the air by two strong hands. _Kakashi._

Their sensei placed them both back on the bridge, rolling his eye. They tried their best to look ashamed, but they really weren't. They'd been having too much fun—what was wrong with that?

"Just what did you two think you were doing?" Kakashi queried, not sounding angry, but that was Kakashi. He was always calm and indifferent. Like Sasuke, Kaede realized, but not to such a degree as the Uchiha was.

"Um….playing in the river?" Naruto answered sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

Kakashi chuckled lightly and shook his head. "You two…." He turned to look at Sasuke. "And I assume Sasuke didn't participate in this little event?" When the dark Uchiha shook his head, Kakashi directed his words at Kaede and Naruto. "Well, then, since Sakura is feeling under the weather, you two will train together, and I will work with Sasuke, OK?'

After eager nods from both young ninja, Kakashi turned away from them.

Naruto and Kaede slipped kunais out of their holsters, held them defensively, and charged at one another. As their knives clashed with metal-on-metal clangs, Kaede let her eyes slip over to Sasuke.

The Uchiha was sparring lightly with their sensei, his moves easily being blocked, but just as easily avoiding Kakashi's attacks. He moved with such precision, such grace, such….determination. It was hard to concentrate on someone else when he was fighting.

"HA!"

Kaede blinked from her daze and realized that Naruto had pinned her, and was dancing triumphantly a few paces away. She grimaced, stood quietly up from the ground, and tackled the happy ninja from behind. They tumbled to the ground, Kaede with her knees on Naruto's legs and her arm flat against his chest, retraining him. He looked up at her with wide, astonished eyes.

"Rule number one: never leave me laying conscious on the ground."



Kaede rolled over on her bed, and right off it. She landed on the ground, tangled in her sheets, with a muffled, "oomph."

She valiantly struggled to release herself from her covers, and once she was disentangled, she jumped up. What a horrible nights sleep, to wake up tangled as she'd been! She shuddered as she went into the bathroom, memories of her dream coming back to her in unwelcome rushes.

After stripping herself of her t-shirt and sleep shorts, she stepped into the hot shower and let the steaming water spray her face and wet her hair. The terror of her dream was still with her, no matter how hard she tried to block it out. Her heart thudded at the thought of running through those halls again, never quite reaching the end, and hearing those footsteps pounding behind her, that voice, calling her, threatening her, never going away…..

_Kaede's breaths came out in short, rapid gasps as she sprinted down the dark, door-filled hallway. She could hear the laughter behind her, his slow steps approaching as calmly as if he were taking an afternoon stroll._

_Her feet hit the floor hard with every quick-paced step, desperately fighting the urge to stop running and give in, give in to his will and allow him to take her. She forced herself to look forward, to the door at the end of the hallway. There were so many doors around her, but she couldn't focus on them. Just that one door, that one chance for escape._

_Except, it never seemed to get any closer. No matter how hard she ran, she couldn't reach it! Her hand reached desperately for the doorknob, and she grabbed it, turned it, and fled through it. She slammed it behind her, leaning against it, breathing hard, and finding it even harder to relax._

_Then, suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She glanced down, saw the white limb gripping her, and screamed. He laughed, and hauled her backwards, through the door that wasn't there anymore. His cackle filling her ears, she was swung around and stared into those eyes, those eyes._

_Snake-like orbs glittered in anticipation, his face crinkled in a horrible, awful laugh. There was nothing, no sound, nothing, just his face, his eyes, and his laugh. His mouth spread open with giggles, he showed two long, white teeth, matching his white skin. His black hair swung around his shoulders as they shook._

_A final gasp was all she could muster, before his neck extended to hers, those long teeth piercing her skin, and her scream, filling the emptiness around her._

Swallowing hard and turning the water on cold, Kaede fought back a chill, shaking her head viciously. Even remembering the dream sent her into a fit!

Kaede yelped as the icy water hit her warm skin, and hurriedly turned the water off completely. She stepped out of the shower, still shaking, and the shaking wasn't from the cold water.

Her fuzzy blue towel felt soft and welcomed on her skin. She dried off as quickly as she could, realizing she was late, and threw her clothes on. It wasn't a moment later when the door was swinging closed behind her.

Sitting on the table next to the door was her headband, and her kunai holster.



At the bridge, Sasuke and Naruto were waiting, one patient, the other fretting, when Kaede arrived. One quick glance told her that Sakura was still under the weather, so she plopped down on the wooden bridge and ran a hand through her wet hair.

"Hi, Kaede!" Naruto greeted enthusiastically, bounding over to give her a tight and unwelcome hug.

Despite her irritation at his hug, Kaede didn't say anything to him and merely patted him lightly on the back.

Stifling a yawn, she mumbled, "Morning."

"Gee, you look tired today," Naruto commented, wrinkling his nose as he studied her carefully. "Did you not sleep last night?"

Oblivious to the blonde's concern, and cranky from her fright, Kaede snapped, "No, Naruto. I had a rough night last night, OK?"

Even Sasuke looked up at the harsh tone of her voice. Naruto looked slightly hurt, but Kaede hadn't the energy to console him and apologize. As if she would anyway.

She leaned her head back on the railing, closed her eyes, and willed all the bad images to go away. If only they would, she grimly told herself, and moved around so that she was laying flat on her back on the warm bridge. Behind her, she knew, was Sasuke, but after the previous day's events, she didn't think she could look at him without that hollow feeling returning.

For hours after returning "home," Kaede had fretted over Sasuke's actions and what he'd done the last week. First, taking her into his home and giving her some clothes, then consoling her, and suddenly insulting her? If all ninja boys were like that, then Kaede would have to turn gay or something, because they were just way too confusing.

If Sasuke had wanted to be crude and insult her, why had he acted so kindly beforehand? He should've come right out and said that she was weak and useless and a crybaby, if in so many words. Apparently, Uchiha's weren't people who enjoyed lengthy conversations or speeches of any kind.

We-ell, if Sasuke wanted to play that game, then she could, too. No more misses-nice-Kaede.

For once, Kakashi was late earlier than usual. Sort of an oxymoron, but that was Kakashi-sensei for you. What you saw was what you got.

_Unlike Sasuke, _Kaede thought bitterly as Kakashi instructed Naruto and Sasuke on their stances and attack methods. She'd requested to sit out of that day's practice, her excuse being lack of sleep and extremely sore muscles. So now, every time she moved, she made sure that she winced a little bit.

It was well past dinnertime when practice was over. They were all extremely hungry—as punishment for Sasuke and Naruto not listening to him and letting their tempers get out of control, Kakashi had taken their lunch privileges away, which in truth made them all feel like three year olds.

So, as an apology, Naruto treated all three of them to ramen at Ichiraku. As they each ate their preferred ramen noodles, Naruto attempted to strike up a conversation, which he was, just barely, able to with Kaede who wasn't in much of a talking mood. But, to humor and please the blonde, she conversed politely with him.

Even as they chatted, her mind was elsewhere. She was thinking of the look on Sasuke's face as he fought Naruto, a look of pure rage and vicious fury that she had never seen before. It amazed and frightened her at the same time—it was amazing because it was an expression that could not be faked, and frightening because, well, it was.

There was no end to the oddities of Uchiha Sasuke, she decided, taking another bit of her ramen in her chopsticks and delivering it to her hungry mouth. No matter how hard she would try to understand him, she would never be able to. It would be best just to let it go, right?

No.

After he called her weak, a baby, and useless, she would not rest until she had received his approval. Or maybe even something else, something else she would not let herself admit to.

* * *

**Wow, Kaede got dissed. Poor little Kaede. Oh, well. I'd originally had Sasuke tell her not to reveal the moment, then I thought, 'You know, maybe it would be more interesting if Sasuke just totally rejected her.' And I was right! Review if you feel like it. Luv ya!**

**StoicNinja2009**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hooray! I am on such a roll! Four chapters, my best story, really my first, lol. Thanks to all my encouraging reviewers, even though there are few. They are awesome, I love you all! This chapter has a good bit of humor, and some drama. Oooooh! Drama!**

* * *

Yawning widely, Kaede clambered out of bed and immediately wanted to crawl back under the covers. The air was extremely chilly, and the wood floor felt like ice on her bare feet. She padded over to the frosty window, looked outside, and gasped. 

A thick, white layer of snow blanketed the ground. And snowflakes were still coming down in torrents! Kaede nearly jumped for joy—no practice!

She snatched up her clothes, this time long sweatpants and a t-shirt, and bounded into the shower. Ten minutes later—she should've gotten some kind of reward for that quick of a wash—Kaede was out, dressed, and pulling on her thick coat, hat, and gloves. As the door swung shut behind her, she held her hands out to catch snowflakes. The soft white fluffs melted almost immediately once they landed on her warm palms.

The snow crunched underneath her boots as she ran into the middle of the street, spinning wildly around, laughing. She knew, of course, what snow was—that was common sense. But she couldn't remember ever experiencing the joy of playing in it. Of course, she couldn't really remember anything before her awakening in the Kohnoha Hospital. That had been nearly five months ago now, so she was quite accustomed to the life of a ninja, and quite good at it, too.

For the second time, the door to the orphanage swung wide open, banging against the side of the tall building before swinging closed again. A heavily-clothed Naruto bounded outside and tackled Kaede onto the snow-covered street. They fell laughing, and rolled over on their backs.

"Snow!" Naruto announced happily, moving his arms and legs back and forth in the snow, creating an angel. Kaede watched him with great interest; she'd never seen that done before! So, of course, she had to try it, too.

In a matter of minutes, snow angels dotted the entire street in front of the orphanage, and in the midst of it all were Kaede and Naruto, giggling and flinging handfuls of snow at each other.

"Hey!"

Both ninja turned to see who had called out to them. A grin split over Naruto's face as the bent down to scoop up more snow and form it into a ball between his palms. Rearing back like a pitcher, he sent the snowball sailing through the air to hit an unsuspecting Sakura in the side of the head.

For a moment, Kaede could've sworn that the pink-haired kunoichi would blow up in a rage, but she just burst into laughter. She turned and ran down the street, motioning for her other two teammates to follow. They eagerly did so, rushing to catch up with Sakura.

They soon found themselves in the middle of Kohnoha, where all of the Leaf genin were quickly forming teams for a snowball fight. As usual, there was mass confusion on who was to be on whose team. Eagerly, Naruto rushed forward to help organize teams.

Kaede ended up with Sakura, Shikamaru, and Ino. Naruto was on a team with Tenten, and Choji. The final team consisted of Rock Lee, Neji, and Sasuke. Kaede was surprised to notice that, while snowballs flew overhead, Sasuke was smiling. She didn't have long to admire his wonderful smile, though, because a rather large snowball thumped her in the face. Loud, uncontrollable chuckles came across the "battlefield," easily recognizable.

"Naruto!" Kaede screeched, wiping the snow off of her face. "You are so dead!"



Later on that evening, all the genin gathered at Sakura's place for hot cocoa and pleasant conversation. Kaede sat near the roaring fire, a cup of steaming cocoa in her cold hands, listening to Shikamaru's attempt at a scary story. The sun had set a while ago, so it was completely dark outside, creating the perfect environment for a good spook.

Unfortunately, Shikamaru became tired halfway through the story, called it all "troublesome," and quit.

After loud groans and a few whacks on the back of the head for the lazy genius, Sasuke cleared his throat. Since he hadn't put in his two cents for a while now, every head turned towards him. He looked creepy, his dark eyes wide with an odd glint to them, the fire casting shadows on his face.

"I have a story," he murmured, scanning all the faces watching him. He placed his cocoa down on the coffee table, stood up, and leaned against the mantle above the fireplace. "It begins with a group of genin, out camping after a long day of hanging out and snowball fights. They were all sitting around the fire, warming up in the chilly night, the only things visible around them being themselves and the logs they sat on. The calming smell of the wood burning lolls the genin into a false sense of security. As the fire begins dying, one of the genin, Jun, stands up and says, 'I'm going to get more firewood. Anyone want to come?'

"One of the other genin, a boy named Samisen, stands and agrees to accompany her into the woods. They leave, and the others wait impatiently for them to get back. After about forty-five minutes, the bravest of the group, Gen, decides to get everyone out to search for them. No one wants to, seeing as there might be something out there that would get them. Gen calls them all chickens, and leaves.

"An hour later, none of them have returned. Then, a rustle is heard in the brush a few feet away from a kunoichi named Cherry. She scurries over to hide behind her friend, Leafa, and all the genin watch in anticipation for whatever it is to emerge. Jun stumbles out from the leaves and they all heave a sigh, until they catch sight of her condition. Jun is covered in blood, and it's not just hers, but Gen's and Samisen's. Cherry and Leafa stand to assist their friend, who manages to gasp out, 'It's coming, it's already got Gen and Sam. Hurry, leave, before it gets you!' And there, right in Cherry's arms, Jun, the wonderful weapons genin, dies."

Gasps were heard throughout the small group of Leaf genin, and Tenten clung tightly to Neji's arm. Neji sighed.

"A loud roar was heard from the trees," Sasuke continued, pacing now. "All of the genin scrambled to get away. Henna doused the fire, Leafa gathered what she could of their weapons, and Len Rye took off his leg weights. Terrible rumbling shook the trees, the roar growing ever-closer. And then, suddenly, a creature like none you've ever seen before appeared between two small saplings, which were crushed from his weight as he took a step forward. Leafa screamed as the monster flung the dead body of Gen, the skilled Byakugan user, to the ground in front of her. Next came Samisen, his chubby face pale and his eyes wide open.

"The smartest boy in the group, Shan, quickly organizes the group into a possible defense. Len Rye was at the front, his heavy leg weights in his hands. He threw them at the creature, and they made direct contact, knocking the thing back several feet. 'Go!' Shan directed, and they all ran for the trees.

"Each jump took them farther from their campsite, but no farther from the creature. Its hulking self barreled down the trees in its way, roaring as his prey tried to escape. In a last attempt to save his friends, Shan threw his shirker self at the creature. A sickening crunch, followed by an even more sickening scream echoed through the forest. Henna brushed her blond hair out of her eyes and bit back the tears, her last teammate gone. Cherry quietly consoled her, jumping next to her friend.

"The edge of the forest was in sight, and only Neme, Len Rye, Leafa, Cherry, Henna, and the quiet Sasune were left. Cherry watched in horror as the monster grew closer, and closer, and closer. Her teammate, Sasune, stopped abruptly, and, he being the strongest of the group, the others followed suit, reluctantly. They all knew their fate by now, anyway.

"Suddenly, the creature was before them, only it wasn't the same creature as before. It was a huge, monstrous snake, hissing and flicking its hungry tongue out at them."

At this, Kaede's mind flashed back to her dream, and those horrible eyes watching her with the eager hunger of a thousand starved snakes….

"The snakes eyes glinted in the limited moonlight and Sasune laughed. He jumped at the horrible serpent, landed on its head, and stood there, holding his sides as he chuckled maniacally. 'Eat them, my pet,' he yelled, while his friends stood there in horror. The last thing they saw was the snakes dripping fangs, his pink tinged mouth, and his horrible, leering throat…."

Suddenly, on the wall, there appeared the shadow of a snake about to eat them, and all of the genin screamed. And screamed, and screamed, and screamed, as Sasuke urged them on, saying, "Eat them, my hungry pet, eat them!"

After a few moments, everyone calmed down enough to realize what had just happened—Sasuke had set them up! Angry glares were sent in the direction of the Uchiha, but he was sitting in his spot as serenely as if he hadn't even told the story, sipping lightly at his cocoa.

"Teme, that wasn't funny!" Naruto said indignantly. "You made my character die!"

"Hn," was his only response.

Now that Kaede thought about it, each character represented one of the genin. Gen was Neji, Leafa was herself, Cherry was Sakura, Henna was Ino, Len Rye was Rock Lee, Shan was Shikamaru, Samisen was Choji, Jun was Tenten, Sasune was Sasuke, and Neme was Naruto. And the one cleverly performing the shadow puppet had been Rock Lee, of all people. But why would Sasuke chose to make the monster into a giant snake?

She wouldn't dote on it, she figured, leaning back against the foot of the chair. It didn't matter. Except, it did, and that nagging feeling wouldn't leave for the rest of the night.



Fortunately, the snow stayed around, and kept snowing thickly enough that practice was canceled the next day, too. Kaede decided to spend the day hanging out with her team.

She, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke met at Ichiraku, where, of course, Naruto was munching down on ramen, and they had to literally drag him away. As they walked through Kohnoha, they saw that their forts from the previous days snowball fight were still there, and skid marks, footprints, and duh, snow angels marked the battle field.

As they walked, Kaede stole a few glances in Sasuke's direction, wondering what had come over him the night before and prompted him to tell a scary story. Normally, the Uchiha would've thought such fun childish, but last night he hadn't, and had even joined in. But the moment the story and scare were over, he'd become himself again.

_Ugh, he's confusing, _she thought, and lagged behind the group. She allowed the others to get several strides ahead, while she strolled slowly, watching the snow crunch beneath her boots. Her dark hair fell around her face, and she took off her hat to brush it back. Then, someone grabbed her red beanie out of her hand.

"Hey!" Kaede cried, swinging around, fist already reeled back, ready to punch whoever it was if necessary. Startled when she saw whom had stolen her beanie, she lowered her fist and stared.

Sasuke Uchiha was holding her little red hat, waving it teasingly in her direction, standing just a few feet away. A grin—wait a _grin_?!—was spread playfully across his perfect face, and his dark eyes were dancing. _Dancing! _

"Sasuke!" Kaede cried, dashing forward with her hand stretched out to grab the beanie from him. But the Uchiha just jumped backwards, landing even further down the street.

"Come and get it, if you want it," he teased.

As she rushed after him, Kaede wondered what he was getting at. Really, what was he doing, stealing her hat right out of her hand and playing keepsies with it? She growled in frustration. He's ignorant and distant, and all of a sudden he wants to tell scary stories and play keepsies with other peoples things? She couldn't fathom what was going on in that head of his!

"Give it here!" she cried, leaping into the air to make another attempt at catching the beanie. Sasuke once again pulled it out of her reach. This time, instead of sighing and making another try at snatching her hat, Kaede reeled her arm back and punched Sasuke a good one right on the jaw.

He immediately dropped the hat, and reached up a hand to massage where she'd punched him. His eyes narrowed, and he crouched, swung his leg around, and knocked her right off her feet. She bounded back to her feet, and kicked him in his side, but he blocked it with his hand, pulled her towards him, and grinned, having every intention of hitting her as hard as he could. But Kaede was ready for him.

She bent her leg as he hauled her closer, and kneed him in the stomach. Sasuke grunted, doubling over, but never loosing his grip on her ankle. She wriggled, twisted, and pulled, trying to break free, but he wouldn't let go.

"Ugh! Let go, Sasuke!"

When Sasuke looked up, though, she saw something in his eyes that she'd only seen once. Her mind immediately brought her back to his fight with Naruto, that expression of fury he'd had on his face.

Her eyes widened as she realized this, and she tried even more desperately to break free. A pair of arms wrapped around her waist and helped her haul backwards. She tilted her head around to see Sakura trying to release her from Sasuke's death grip. And when she turned back to the angry Uchiha, she saw Naruto, his hands tightened around Sasuke's wrist, yanking the other genin's arm looser, inch by inch.

By this time, several people had stopped to see what the struggle was all about, and were crowding around by the dozen. Kaede felt herself flush at the embarrassment of having all those people watching her and her team fighting back Sasuke. Her ankle was throbbing underneath her boot; she could feel it slowly tightening, until…..

_CRACK! _

The entire struggle stopped at this sound, coupled with Kaede's sharp shriek of pain as her ankle snapped. Even Sasuke looked up, but the rage was still lingering in his eyes, she could tell. Tears brimmed in her eyes, threatening to fall over, even though that was the last thing she wanted.

"Enough!"

A pair of strong hands tore Sasuke's arm from Kaede's leg, grabbed the now-flailing Uchiha, and restrained him to a green-vested chest.

Kakashi-sensei looked scarier than Kaede had ever seen him. His one eye was narrowed, and for the first time, he had pushed his band up, revealing a red, furious eye Kaede knew as the Sharingan. Kakashi held Sasuke tightly to his chest, more tightly that he probably should have, and glared down at all of them.

"What was going on here?" he snapped, his Sharingan eye flashing over them each in turn. Sakura sniffled, Naruto frowned, and Kaede leaned on them both for support as she favored her ankle. "I said, what was going on!"

This time, the question was directed as Sasuke, who had calmed down enough for Kakashi to set him on his own feet.

"She punched me," Sasuke accused, nodding towards Kaede. "I responded by attacking her back. We continued to fight until I had her leg, she kneed me in the stomach, and I refused to let go of her ankle. She struggled so much that it cracked and broke."

Looking at Kaede for her side of the story, Kakashi said, "Is all this true, Kaede?"

She nodded. "For the most part, yeah. But I was only struggling because he was holding so tight and wouldn't let go. Sakura helped me pull, and Naruto tried to pry his hands off of my ankle. It didn't work, though, so his grip just tightened and he broke it."

Nodding thoughtfully, but still angry, Kakashi shot an angry look down at Sasuke. He grabbed the Uchiha by the upper arm and started to drag him off. With one last glance back at his other three students, he said, "Sakura, Naruto, assist Kaede to the hospital, and see that she gets that ankle properly set and bandaged. Then go back to Sakura's house and make her some soup or something to eat."



Once her leg was bandaged and set, as Kakashi had instructed, Kaede, Naruto, and Sakura went back to Sakura's house and set Kaede up on the couch. Naruto kept her company while their pink-haired friend went into the kitchen to whip up a bowl of thick, hot soup.

"I've never seen Sasuke act that way, especially with a girl," Naruto said in wonder, staring into the fire that was burning in the fireplace.

Kaede gave a short laugh. "Yeah, sure, Naruto." When the blond merely stared at her, she continued, "When you and Sasuke are fighting, you don't realize that, but he gives you that same look every time. I've watched, and when he gets that way it sort of scares me. And, shoot, it should! Look where that look got me!" She gestured at her ankle, which was propped up on two pillows, and Naruto chuckled.

"Yeah," he agreed, leaning back against the couch, "I guess you're right. I probably don't notice it because I'm so intent on our fight. But I know I get that way, too. Sakura's told me before that whenever I fight Sasuke, I get kinda scary. But that's not really me; normally I'm just the fun-loving, kind guy you see!"

This time Kaede laughed, and Sakura entered carrying three bowls of soup.

"Here we go," the other kunoichi said, handing Kaede and Naruto each a bowl, then settling herself on a chair. As they ate their warm concoction, Sakura said, "I wonder what Kakashi-sensei's going to do to Sasuke. I hope he doesn't do something serious."

Naruto shrugged. "Well, whatever he does Sasuke deserves. Kakashi isn't just some guy who randomly disciplines depending on his mood. He knows just how much do dish out and when."

With this, Sakura and Naruto set off into a discussion, kindly leaving Kaede out of it so she could sort out her jumbled thoughts.

_Today was an eventful day, _she thought darkly, staring down at her bandaged ankle. She had never had to fight Sasuke before, and now she wasn't looking forward to doing it again. The Uchiha was strong, really strong, and became some sort of different person when he fought, although he did it calmly and not wildly like Naruto. Naruto would take on a sort of fox-like attitude, becoming sly and crouched down, ready to spring up at a seconds notice.

Sasuke, on the other hand, acted more cool and collected when fighting, even if he was sort of furiously doing so. Something about him changed during a fight, and he became some sort of monster or creature, or hell-bent, blood-thirsty assassin. Kaede quickly shook her head, blocking out any and all of those thoughts. Sasuke sure was a confusing person, and a strong one at that. But she would be ready when the time came for her to prove herself to him. She would be ready.

* * *

There we are! The fourth chapter. Yay! Sasuke seems like a bum, doesn't he? Yeah, he is, but a gorgeous bum! You can't help but love him. Kaede just gets the butt of all of his jokes, poor thing. I love how this story is turning out, absolutely love it. Woo! Keep reviewing, you all! 

Love you,

StoicNinja2009

aka

Nicola


	5. Chapter 5

**I am so excited, another chapter! I think this one is my longest, and by far the most eventful and probably satisfying. I want to thank all my reviewers so so so so so so so much--you prompted me to keep making chapters! Yay!**

* * *

The snow finally melted enough for training to start again, where Naruto and Sasuke partnered up most of the time, leaving Sakura and Kaede to practice together.

And Kaede had no problem with that. She hadn't been on good terms with Sasuke lately, and the more she avoided any confrontation the better in her opinion. Besides, Sakura was a really good opponent, and was great handling those kunai.

That day, Friday, all four of them were sparring under Kakashi's watchful eyes. Or eye, rather. Everyone, especially Sasuke, behaved themselves, holding back and trying to keep from drawing blood. No one knew what Kakashi-sensei had talked to Sasuke about, or how he had punished him, but the Uchiha was on his best behavior.

After a particularly hard hit from Sakura, Kaede had to sit out. Her still-broken ankle was throbbing painfully, and she knew that she shouldn't be walking on it. But, still, if she was going to be a ninja, pain would have to be pushed aside.

She hobbled over to one of the trees surrounding the field, and sank to the ground, lightly massaging her ankle through its bandages. Sakura plopped down next to her, searching her face worriedly. Kaede ignored her, though, and stretched out her injured leg, letting it rest for a few minutes before she would have to get back up and spar again.

Sakura leaned her head back against the tree.

"Did I hurt your ankle?" she asked, her eyes closed.

Kaede shook her head. "No," she murmured, swallowing hard to diminish the pain. "I'll be fine in a minute. No worries." She attempted to smile brightly at the other kunoichi, but Sakura just frowned.

"Okay, then."

Just as Kaede was about to stand up, a strong hand gripped her forearm and hoisted her to her feet. In about two seconds time she found herself face-to-face with Kakashi, who was looking oddly malevolent today.

Kakashi gave her a little shove towards Sasuke. She stumbled, landed hard on her bad ankle, and bit her lip to keep from crying out.

"You are going to partner with Sasuke, and Sakura, you're with Naruto," Kakashi explained, taking two scrolls out of his little pouch. He handed one to Sasuke, and one to Sakura. "In your groups, you will be leaving on a two-day training session, during which you will be practicing your survival knowledge. You never know where there will be traps, when you will be attacked, if at all, or how little food you might find. Be back here in one hour, packed and ready."

Horrified, Kaede stole a glance at Sasuke. What on earth was Kakashi thinking?! That insane excuse for a genin had broken her ankle, and with said broken ankle, how was she supposed to jump through trees and stuff? There was no way she was going to survive two days of leaping through brush and high oaks and whatever! She could barely live through the two-mile, ten-minute trek back to the orphanage!

She glared at Kakashi, who looked smug and satisfied with his choice of teams. _I'll get you, Kakashi-sensei, _she thought angrily, _you just wait. _



Kaede slung her backpack over her shoulder, grunting as the weight of it hit her back. She adjusted the straps, shifted the bag, and nodded. She'd live.

As she started out the door, she wondered vaguely if she would actually live through this trip, or if Sasuke would murder her before she had a chance to blink. Honestly, she wouldn't put it past him. She met up with Naruto outside, and they both grinned nervously at each other.

"Sorry you got stuck with Sasuke," the blonde apologized, smiling sheepishly. "I was hoping that you wouldn't have to deal with him. You don't know him as well as I do, even if we argue all the time. I can handle Sasuke—you can't."

Kaede huffed at this little tidbit of information. As if! She could take care of herself just fine, thank you very much! Sasuke wouldn't lay a hand on her if she had anything to say about it. "Naruto, I appreciate your concern, but I can take care of myself. Don't worry. Sasuke won't try anything."

Naruto was quiet for a moment, then said, "I sure hope you're right."



"Alright!" Kakashi clapped his hands together, for once actually seeming excited about training. "You have two days out in this large, ominous forest. All you have to do is hold onto the scrolls I gave you throughout the session, and come back with them. OK? OK. Now, get out there!"

Naruto and Sakura, and Sasuke and a rather hesitant Kaede leapt into the trees in different directions. Kaede did not want to go, but she honestly had no choice in the matter. Kakashi would most likely put her up to some other stupid task if she refused to go on the trek, so she'd rather feel useful that do a worthless D-ranked mission.

After only a few leaps, Kakashi had disappeared from view, and Naruto and Sakura were completely gone. Nervously, Kaede sneaked a peek at Sasuke.

The Uchiha was jumping smoothly from branch to branch, his eyes expressionless and focused on the trees ahead of him. His dark hair fell into his face as he landed on a branch, then blew back again when he launched into the air. Kaede couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from the hated boy.

How could she hate someone so much, but still feel this little….she couldn't explain the feeling in her chest. It wasn't the tightening, swelling feeling, but more like something inside her was about to burst out from behind the confines of her ribs, through her skin, and out into the world, ready to express itself fully.

She swallowed and forced her eyes away from Sasuke. If anything, she would acknowledge him only when necessary, which meant only when their mission was in danger. Which meant only when they were attacked or something, if at all. She quickened her pace, not wanting to be left behind by her "teammate."

Sasuke was far ahead, apparently ignoring her, because he sure hadn't acknowledged her! He closed his eyes for a moment, stopping on a thick branch and taking deep, slow breaths. He could feel his heart thudding briskly against his ribs, threatening to burst out, and he wanted it to stop. It was uncomfortable, the feeling he was getting. But for some reason, no matter how hard he tried, he could not will it away!

"Um, are you OK Sasuke?"

Kaede's voice interrupted his reprieve, and he shot a glare at her. "I'm fine. I was just waiting for you to catch up." He turned, preparing to jump again. "Don't be so slow."

Once again infuriated by the Uchiha's arrogance, Kaede clenched her hands into fists and jumped next to him. She shifted so that she was in front of him, glaring reproachfully into those dark eyes of his. He stared back, his expression unfathomable at the surface, but his anger boiling just under it.

"Don't you ever," she snarled, "talk to me like that."

Sasuke momentarily looked taken aback at her outburst—as if he hadn't expected it, Hmph—but his anger bubbled into his eyes. He would not let some girl, especially Kaede, talk to him in such a tone!

He grabbed her by the collar and pulled her even closer, if that was possible, his lips curled back in a silent growl. "You have no right to speak to someone like they're a child," he said quietly, too quietly. "I am your superior, and you will not disrespect me!"

Kaede grabbed onto Sasuke's wrist, yanking her shirt free of his grasp. She backed off a few steps, then loosed a banshee scream, plummeting her fist into Sasuke's cheek, pushing the Uchiha several steps backwards.

"I hate you!" she screamed at him, lurching forward again to shove him against the trunk of the tree. "You are an arrogant little brat! Just because you lost your family doesn't mean you can act like a total jerk! At least you knew them! I have no idea where I come from. You're the lucky one, so stop wallowing in your self pity and get over yourself!"

With that, Kaede turned away from Sasuke and jumped rapidly down an unknown path of tree branches, tears brimming in the corners of her eyes. Her ankle throbbed horribly, refusing to let up. She found it hard to breath, her blood was pulsing so hard, and her head began to ache. Angrily, she spat on the branch she momentarily landed on, before pushing off and leaping to another one.

After getting all that off her chest, she should've felt better, right? Well, why didn't she? She only felt worse. The feeling she'd been getting worsened, her heart ached worse than her head, and yet she fought the urge to turn around and rush back to Sasuke. That would only make her weaker in his eyes. That was the last thing she wanted to happen.

Her eyesight became blurry from the tears, and she was barely able to make out everything around her. Irritated, she brushed the tears off of her cheeks, pressing forward despite her body's constant nagging to stop and rest. If she stopped now, an angry, powerful, and probably revenge-hungry Sasuke would catch up to her and finish her off. Which wouldn't be all that bad, considering how she felt at the moment.

Taking a shaky breath, Kaede ran a hand through her messy, unruly hair, wishing she had a hair tie more than anything. She was sweating, and her dark locks were sticking to her neck and temples. A cry of pain escaped her dry lips as she landed and pushed off on her broken ankle. The flutter of wings caught her attention as a bird flew out of a nearby clutter of leaves, startled by her outburst.

She had no idea how long she'd been traveling; she only knew that she would have to keep going, no matter how much it hurt or how tired she became. Her lungs expanded and retracted rapidly, working hard to keep her going. Her chest burned from the effort, and she squinted her eyes against the inner flame. Tears still flowed freely from her tired, tortured hazel orbs, running in a quick procession down her cheeks and off her chin.

Once again, she slammed down on her bad leg, and this time she couldn't bring herself to push off and cause herself more pain. She fell to her knees, the fright building up steadily as her imagination showed her pictures of Sasuke over her, his eyes angry and merciless. _No, _she told herself. She would not think like that. If Sasuke came, she would fend off as best as she could, and run if she had to. There was no way she was going to let him have power over her like that. Another dam broke, and fresh tears flew from her eyes, further wetting her already moistened face. She gasped for air, fighting back the tears, not wanting to cry anymore, for it caused her too much pain.

And then, she looked up in the branches above her, and screamed.

With her scream came back memories she had never seen before, but they were so familiar, she couldn't let them slip away.

_A younger Kaede sat on the shoulders of a rather tall man, her hands resting on the top of his head. His stark-white hands gripped her ankles securely, and she giggled as they bounced up and down. The man was leaping through trees, his laughter mixing with hers. _

_"Yay!" she cried, clinging to his long, black hair as they launched off a branch, soaring momentarily through the air. _

_The man chuckled lightly. "Are you having fun?" he asked, slowing his pace down as they approached their destination._

_"Yes, yes!" Kaede said loudly, clapping her hands. She was only eight; this was still thrilling to her. She loved their little outings, and everything he taught her. He made learning how to fight and survive fun, really fun. _

_"Good," the man said, smiling. "We're here." He landed gracefully on the roof of an old building in the only clearing in the forest. Carefully, he set Kaede down on her own feet, and they sat on the wooden roof. Kaede hugged her knees to her chest, staring up at the multi-colored sky. _

_"Orochimaru?" she asked, glancing up at the white-skinned man next to her. Said man looked down at her affectionately, his small smile inviting and warm._

_"Yes, what is it?" _

_"Um, I was wondering…will I ever be strong like you?" She said the words in a rush, a little embarrassed at her question._

_Orochimaru laughed the tinkling laugh that Kaede enjoyed hearing. She smiled, knowing that the answer would be something she would like. He put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. "My dear," he said, looking up at the setting sun, "you are going to be one of the strongest ninja that ever lived." He sighed, and Kaede leaned her head on his shoulder._

_"Thank you," she said, closing her tired little eyes and drifting into a satisfied sleep in the arms of the only parent figure she'd ever known…_

_An older Kaede, somewhere around ten, was sparring with a stony-faced Kimimaro, and fending off well with the experienced ninja. She dodged underneath his bone sword, swiping her leg underneath Kimimaro's feet and sending him to the ground. She jumped away from him, doing a few back flips for good measure. _

_Kimimaro stood slowly to his feet, his face momentarily amazed, then back to his old indifference. He raised his hands, glaring in Kaede's direction. He yelled out, "Finger bullets!"_

_Dozens of small, sharp finger bones shot out from Kimimaro's fingers, spinning wildly towards Kaede. She took out a kunai in each hand, and defended herself as best as she could. Two finger bullets, though, sliced through her skin from her knuckles to just above her wrist, leaving two long, bleeding gashes in her right hand_

_She gasped, dropping her kunai and cradling her hand to her chest in an attempt to stem the bleeding. Dark blood soaked her shirt, and she fell to the ground, the pain almost unbearable._

_Then, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and she looked up into the kind face of Orochimaru, his snake-like eyes glinting somewhere between worry and disappointment. He slowly pulled her to her feet, took her injured hand in his, and examined the damage. _

_He looked once at Kimimaro, and the white-haired ninja walked away. Orochimaru turned his attention back to Kaede, who was fighting back grimaces as he caressed her injured hand. He studied it carefully, running his fingers over the gashes lightly, but it still stung._

_"We'll take you to Kabuto. He'll heal this."_

Kaede clung desperately to the only piece of reality she could find through these memories. Flashes of others—more fights, more quiet sunsets—filled her mind, but she fought to regain total control, and succeeded. Were they real memories, or figments of her imagination, which had been proving extravagant lately?

She found that, suddenly, she was able to breathe easily, but her mind was whirring with the new-found memories or whatever they were.

The man, Orochimaru had been his name, was the same one from her nightmare many nights ago. Except, he seemed nicer in these visions, almost like a fatherly figure. Somehow, she couldn't be afraid of him when she saw him as a nicer person. Even as she remembered the way he had bitten down on her neck in her dream, she didn't feel any fear. But, subconsciously, she reached up and touched her skin where his teeth had penetrated.

Under her fingers, she felt a different texture, soft, bruise-like. She'd never noticed it before, but it was there. Where had it come from? With no mirror in sight, Kaede ignored the mark…for now. She would worry about it later, when she got out of the forest.

If she ever did.

Filled with new resolve—and new fear of Sasuke catching up with her—Kaede got to her feet, and leaped off into the forest again. Her feet sounded dull with every landing and take off she made. She bit hard on her lip, keeping from making any kind of noise because of pain.

Her eyes felt dry, probably from crying so much. Her chest felt a little better with the distraction of the memory-visions. Everything was just too familiar, and too creepy. If only she could forget it all, and go back to running for her life. She was running for her life, but not with such haste as before. Sasuke seemed like a secondary worry compared to her visions, or whatever they were.



Kaede fell gratefully onto the soft dirt, exhausted mentally and physically. She wanted nothing more than to sleep, to sleep and never have to wake up. But she couldn't do that.

After hours of running, Kaede had finally stumbled upon a small stream bordered by rocks and small patches of dirt and grass. She'd chosen a little space between two large boulders, and collapsed.

Everything hurt, her ankle hurt the worst, and all previous thoughts had already been forgotten. During her mad dash to nowhere, she'd sorted out the visions and dubbed them figments of insanity. That was the only possible explanation—she was going insane! What else could it be?

Her eyelids felt heavy and crusty with dirt and debris that had come off the trees. She didn't think she could move at all, even if she wanted to. She didn't care if Sasuke found her and finished her off. It would be better than spending the rest of her limited days next to this stream, in between these boulders. She couldn't even fish; there was no way she would survive on her own. Maybe, miraculously, Kakashi would come looking for her, and save her from the confines of her wooded prison. Yeah, he'd come looking for her, he just had to.

He was her sensei after all…..



The smell of cooking fish and the sound of a crackling fire woke Kaede from her seemingly-endless sleep. She sat up slowly, every muscle in her body protesting loudly and painfully. Her eyes slowly began to focus, and what she saw made her jolt into as best of an upright position as she could manage.

Several fish were tied over a blazing fire, and someone was putting wood into that fire. She couldn't make out the person, but whoever it was had moved her from her little boulder cubby to a more enclosed area. She pulled her leg underneath her in an attempt to stand up. Pain shot through her ankle like nothing she'd ever felt before, and she fell back against a cool rock, gasping for breath and waiting for the pain to pass.

The person looked up, and for the first time spoke. "You shouldn't try to get up. Your ankle is badly injured. It will be a few days before you can walk on it."

Kaede recognized the cool, velvety voice and forgot her pain completely. What was he doing here, cooking fish and—she glanced down at her ankle—bandaging and splinting her injury?

Sasuke Uchiha turned back to his diligent cooking, completely ignoring Kaede. Where she normally would've felt anger at his behavior, she felt gratitude towards the Uchiha boy. He had taken care of her, for the second time since they'd first met. She felt her breath leave her lungs, but for a different reason this time. Her breath came out in gasps, her heart fluttering rapidly. Sasuke seemed not to notice her reaction to his presence, and for that she was glad.

She did not want Sasuke to know that she was beginning to realize the reason for all of her anger and odd feelings towards him.

"Thank you," she managed to mutter, still fighting for control of her rampaging emotions. She focused her gaze on her ankle, and stubbornly decided to stand despite Sasuke's warnings.

Her hand groped around for the top of the rock she was leaning on, found it, and gripped it. She hoisted herself to her feet, leaning totally on her good leg for support. Sasuke looked up, watching her.

She lightly tested how much weight her bad ankle could hold, and held back a yelp. It couldn't hold much, but it would have to do. She took her first tentative step forward, and cried out.

Immediately, Sasuke was at her side, his arm around her waist, steadying her and allowing her to lean on him. Kaede looked up at him—for he was a good three inches taller than her—puzzled at his behavior. He was helping her stand.

Sasuke assisted Kaede in hobbling over to the fire, and set her carefully on the ground, her foot outstretched. He sat next to her, taking up a stick and poking the fish to test how cooked they were. They weren't finished yet.

He set the stick down, leaning back on his hands, and stared into the fire.

"I'm sorry," Kaede whispered suddenly, not knowing why she felt like she had to apologize. Sasuke looked over at her, stunned by her quiet outburst.

"What?" he asked, his dark eyes searching her face.

"I said I'm sorry," she repeated, a few tears sliding over her cheeks. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, and telling you to suck it up. I'm sorry for hitting you and running off like I did, and making you come after me. You do have it worse than I do. You knew your family before they died; I don't know who my family is, so I can't miss them. It must hurt terribly, Sasuke. I'm sorry that I brought that up. Please, don't be mad at me, I—"

Sasuke interrupted her by putting his finger on her lips, silencing her. He reached up and wiped a tear off of her cheekbone. "Don't be," he said quietly, his velvety voice revealing what he'd been hiding for so long. Kaede sniffled, unable to tear her gaze from Sasuke's beautiful face.

Slowly, he lowered his face to hers, and met her lips with his. The kiss was soft, tender, and full of the feelings that they both shared. In that one kiss, they both realized the truth, that they'd liked each other all along, maybe even loved each other.

Their lips parted, and Kaede could still feel his mouth on hers. She reached up touched his face, and he traced his finger along the outside of her mouth, then caressed her jaw gently. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. He leaned down for another, more passionate kiss.

* * *

**There you go; I hope you liked the ending. Cause I know I loved writing it. And I'm going to keep going, too. If you guys have any suggestions on where you would like this story to go, I'd be glad to here them! Review if you want to!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey, it's me again! I absolutely love where this story is going. I can't believe the awesome reviews I've gotten for it, and I wholeheartedly thank you all! Blows kisses and waves the queen wave You are all so wonderful!**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter to The Heart of an Uchiha boy. I hope you love it, I'm not so sure about some parts, but I can change it if you all don't like it. :D Luv ya**

**Nicola**

* * *

Kaede sighed, enjoying the company she was in. For the past few hours, she and Sasuke Uchiha—yes, THE Sasuke Uchiha—had sat in a comfortable silence, Sasuke with his arm around her shoulders, allowing her to lean against him.

They'd eaten the fish that Sasuke had caught, and the small meal had been rather tasty. Since their kiss, only a few words had been exchanged, but Kaede new how Sasuke was about talking, so she merely let it pass.

Her ankle still hurt a good bit, but the fact that Sasuke was next to her made it a whole lot more bearable. He was lazily staring off into the abyss, thinking of something, she guessed. Personally, her eyes were trained on his flawless face. The pale skin, those perfect lips, his dark eyes, everything. Neither seemed to want to break the silence, and neither did.

That is, until Sasuke's eyes darted in the direction of the forest and he dropped his arm from around her, scooting away. She gasped in surprise, throwing out her arms to catch herself. Sitting back up, she stared at Sasuke, wondering just what he was getting at, breaking up their cute little moment together.

The Uchiha was staring into the woods, and for the first time, Kaede noticed that his eyes were even more beautiful when the Sharingan was activated, as it was now.

His gaze never leaving the trees, Sasuke poked the fire lightly with a branch, stirring the ashy logs from their positions and allowing the flames to burn with more ease. Kaede turned her gaze to the trees, too, and caught a glimpse of someone standing on a branch, apparently not too worried about concealing his or her self that well.

"Kaede," Sasuke said, his voice sharp and cool. Kaede nodded, still watching the figure in the forest. "There's someone—"

"I know," she interrupted.

"You can't fight," Sasuke went on, as if she hadn't spoken. Her heart twisted, but she ignored it. "I won't do anything about it unless they try something. Keep the scroll in sight, and do not let go of it."

Kaede nodded again, and turned her gaze to her backpack, sitting just a little too far away for comfort. She reached out, snagged it, and pulled it closer, digging her hand inside and taking out the scroll to make sure it was still there. Reassured, she tucked it back safely in the pack and tied it closed, wrapping one arm around it.

Sasuke stayed where he was, his eyes back to normal, but still watching the figure for any threatening movement.

Frustrated, Kaede tried to think that he was keeping his distance because of the intruder, because sitting alone would allow him quicker movement if necessary. But she couldn't think that way. There seemed to be an invisible, yet definitely solid barrier between them, separating their feelings like before. She sighed, glaring down at her hurt ankle. Just imagine he's acting like this because he's worried, she told herself. If only he were the way he was because he was being protective of her, not wanting her to get hurt any worse than she was. He had broken her ankle the first time, after all.

Yet that brought on thoughts of Sasuke being guilty, and having kissed her to make up for the injury he had caused. She groaned, and Sasuke's head snapped around to look at her. Her hand flew up to cover her mouth—she hadn't realized that she'd actually made a sound.

Sasuke stared at her for a few more moments, his stony glare boring into her to the point where it seemed like he was reading her thoughts. Then he turned back to watching the figure, only to gasp and activate his Sharingan.

Kaede opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, but then Sasuke wasn't there anymore. She stared around, now frightened. Why had Sasuke left?

Suddenly, it dawned on her. The figure was making his move.

She flattened her back against the rock behind her, clinging the backpack even closer to her body, if possible. She heard nothing, saw nothing, and definitely didn't know anything. All she knew was that Sasuke was gone, so was the figure, and she was left to fend for herself if her teammate failed. Hand shaking, she dug in her pouch until her fingers felt a cool, hard metal, which she grabbed and pulled out.

The black kunai had been given to her by Naruto, and she knew that it was sharper than any other knife she owned. She held it tightly in her fist, prepared to use it if necessary. The only sounds were that of the fire crackling and her own ragged breathing. If she didn't calm down, she realized, it would give away her fear to her enemy, whoever that was at the moment.

And then, all of a sudden, a barely scuffed Sasuke was next to her again, crouched down and looking at her with that expressionless expression of his.

Several moments passed before Kaede scrounged up enough courage to ask, "What happened?"

Sasuke didn't answer for a moment, but when he did, it was rather bland. "I got rid of him."

"How-"

"Don't ask," Sasuke snapped, his face now angry. He let out an exasperated sigh and stood up, starting to pace. Kaede watched him walk back and forth, not even trying to understand the quiet muttering he made under his breath. All she was concerned about was what the heck was going on!

Kaede was beginning to feel tired of watching Sasuke pace, so she slung the strap of her pack across her arm, leaned with all her weight against the stone slab behind her, and pushed up with her good leg.

In a moment she was standing, the toe of her bandaged foot resting lightly on the ground while her good leg took the majority of the weight. Sasuke glanced over at her, but resumed his pacing without a second thought. Irritated, Kaede began to limp outside, her hand resting on the stone until it ended and there was nothing left to hold onto.

She readjusted the backpack onto her shoulder and started hobbling away from the small enclosure that she'd woken up in. Her ankle had persisted in its throbbing, the pain increasing sine she was walking on it, even though she wasn't supposed to. But what pained her the most was that Sasuke was not coming after her or helping her as he'd done so many other times. Well, okay, somewhere around three, but still, didn't that show that the Uchiha had some compassion?

Tears welled in her eyes, but she blinked them back, not wanting them to run just because of a little think like pain. This pain, though, wasn't the kind of physical pain most people endured. It was more of an emotional, inner ache, like the kind someone would experience after a loved one died, or after being blown off by someone who was supposed to feel something for them.

For Kaede, it was the latter.



Whimpering and stumbling, Kaede collapsed against a tree trunk, having not the energy nor the courage to jump onto a branch. The pain would be too great.

She was lost somewhere in the forest, horribly lost, with no hope of finding her way out. There was no way she would escape now, not with her sense of direction and current condition. Her ankle pulsated, and the pain of it coursed through her entire being, her ears thumping with it. She was tired, hungry, and weary. If only she'd been smart enough to stay with Sasuke like she was supposed to. Her better sense had only now come back, and was scolding her roughly for her haughty exit. Her only consolation was that if Sasuke didn't find her, he would fail, for she had the scroll.

_Are you satisfied, Uchiha? _She thought bitterly, biting down hard on her lip to keep from screaming. The ache in her chest was quickly surpassing the pain in her ankle, and it was making her want to yell and holler and screech as loud as she could.

A slight breeze ruffled her dirty, messy hair and cooled her hot and sweaty face. She tilted her head towards the wind, hoping to make the feeling linger. But it didn't, falling away with the breeze.

She gasped, clutching her chest as another surge of pain coursed through her. Now she understood what it truly meant to be in an agony she had never known nor experienced before. And this time, she didn't hold back the scream that swelled her throat.

The sound of her scream echoed around her, seeming to never end as her pain released itself in a loud, angry manner. Her eyes were no longer producing tears; they were completely dry, and she longed to douse them with some sort of water. She remembered as she screamed something she'd learned from Sakura.

She'd learned to just freak out and let everything out every now and again, as letting it build up would cause a bigger explosion eventually. Sakura knew this because of her own frustrations with being a ninja. The kunoichi had said that letting your emotions flow was good.

_"You don't have to be perfect and composed all the time," Sakura said, smiling slightly. "It's hard to keep everything bottled up inside, and eventually all those emotions and words you wished you had said will all come tumbling out, and you'll probably do something you'll regret." She picked at her ramen before looking back up at Kaede, her green eyes filled with hurt. "Most of the time, I scream or beat the crap out of anything at hand, like a pillow or a tree trunk or even Naruto." That made them both giggle. "But, seriously, just scream."_

Kaede now understood what Sakura had meant when she'd said to just let everything out. It felt good, she realized as the last echoes of her scream faded away. She sighed, the tightening in her chest loosening a good deal. Her eyelids drooped, and as she slipped away into unconsciousness, she smiled.



"Kaede! Kaede, wake up!"

Someone was calling her name, Kaede realized, and she fought to open her eyes. Everything was so quiet, so dreary, so blurry, until an extremely annoying voice cut through her bliss.

"Get up!"

_Naruto, _she thought, and rolled over. She could miss practice for a day, couldn't she? That persistent little blonde would just have to go away for now. Irritably, she swatted at the air above her, and her wildly waving hand connected with a nose.

"Ouch!" Naruto howled, but he persisted, shaking Kaede by the shoulder. "Get up, Kaede, you have to get up. Please!"

The begging tone in Naruto's voice alerted Kaede more to her surroundings. Her bed wasn't her bed, but cold, hard, moist ground. And the sweet smells of an early morning weren't really that sweet as memories of the previous whenever came back to her. Immediately, she shot up into a sitting position, regretting it instantly when her ankle throbbed in response.

"Naruto!"

The blonde's face was never more welcome. Kaede threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, burying her dirty, cold face into his chest. Naruto wrapped his arms around her, slowly rocking back and forth, murmuring calm words in her ear.

"It's OK, Kaede. We're here, it's OK."

"Oh, you got her up!" Sakura's voice said, and Kaede nestled closer to Naruto, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips. Her friends were here.

She felt Naruto nod, and heard Sakura kneel next to them. The kunoichi settled her hand on Kaede's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. Naruto released her, but she didn't move, craving his warmth. Sakura carefully pulled her away, and she resisted with all the energy she had, which wasn't much.

Finally her eyes came into focus, and she saw clearly the worried faces of her teammates. Sakura's green eyes were widened in concern, while Naruto simply looked disappointed that Kaede had been pulled away from him.

The differences in their expressions made Kaede laugh, and the sensation it sent through her body felt great, wonderful. Apparently pleased with this reaction, Sakura and Naruto joined her, and soon all three were heaped over with joyful laughter.

Once they were settled down enough to talk coherently, Kaede leaned back against Naruto, once again feeling the need to be close to the young ninja. Sakura leaned on the tree next to them, her green eyes searching Kaede's face.

"Are you OK, Kaede?" she queried, her eyes darting down to look at the other girl's ankle. "Who bandaged your ankle?"

Naruto, too, seemed curious, so Kaede started at the beginning of their mission, from the point where they'd all leapt into the forest to just after she'd woken to find Sasuke by the fire, cooking fish. But her throat clogged and refused to allow her to speak when she tried to talk about what had happened after that. These were her friends, she should be able to tell them everything. Yet something was holding her back. So she quickly made up a fake story of what had happened after that, spinning a tale of Sasuke ignoring her, then going back to the truth.

At the end of her explanation, Naruto tightened his hold on her. And for some reason, it felt right to be there, against his side, with his arm securely around her waist. It didn't feel like it had when she'd been in Sasuke's arms, but Naruto was good enough for her.

Sakura scowled. "I hate to say it, but we'd better go find Sasuke. Kakashi-sensei isn't going to like it if you stay with us. He's a stickler for mission teams."

"But he knows how Sasuke is around Kaede," Naruto countered while Kaede closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. "If you want, though, I'll go be on Sasuke's team and you stay, Sakura."

Kaede didn't want Naruto to leave, but Sakura agreed, and Naruto snagged the scroll out of Kaede's pack. "I'll see you guys after the mission, then." And he was gone.

Kaede leaned on the same tree as Sakura, to the pink haired girl's left. They both didn't want to move at all, and weren't about to try.

"How's your ankle?" Sakura asked after a few moments, rather curious about Sasuke's medical skills.

"It hurts." Kaede didn't have the energy to lie anymore. Everything hurt. The pain in her chest had alleviated, but it was still there, a dull, nagging ache. And her ankle, oh Kami her ankle hurt! But she would do whatever was necessary to get out of this forest. She didn't know how many days it had been, but she knew that soon enough they would be finished, and Kakashi would give them a few days off in which she could comfortably rest her ankle. "Sakura?"

"Hmm?" The kunoichi looked over at her teammate, green eyes looking peering out from behind pink locks of hair.

"How many days has it been?"

"Umm…" Sakura seemed to count the hours mentally, and then she brightened, a grin spreading across her face. "Two! Kakashi will be expecting us back soon!" She stood up, and hoisted Kaede to her feet, too. Or foot, rather. She slung one of Kaede's arms around her neck, and grabbed her teammate around the waist.

"Thanks, Sakura," Kaede whispered.

"No problem," Sakura grunted, jumping up into the trees. She let out the breath she'd been holding during the leap. "Kami, you're heavier than you look!" Sakura took another deep breath and pounced to another branch. She paused. "I can tell this is going to be a long process."



The long trek back to the beginning of the forest was a slow and painful one for Kaede. Sakura wasn't very strong in the physical sense, so the kunoichi had a hard time carrying her teammate. But somewhere along the way, Naruto and Sasuke caught up to them, and Naruto carried Kaede for the rest of the trek.

It wasn't soon enough that they all reached the light at the end, or beginning in this case, of the forest. Kakashi seemed surprised, but not too surprised, to see Naruto carrying Kaede out. The Jounin merely took their scrolls, congratulated them, and told the blonde ninja to take the kunoichi he was hauling around to the hospital again and to stay there with her until she was released.

Sasuke slinked away, his hands in his pockets, while Sakura wished Kaede luck at the hospital before leaving to go home and take a shower.

Kaede wasn't coherent enough to remember most of the trip to the hospital, but she did remember Naruto's reassuring voice that it was going to be OK, that her ankle would be fine in no time. The sound of his voice comforted her greatly, and lulled her into a half-sleep. By the time they reached the hospital, she was still out of it.

Vaguely aware of someone injecting her foot with something, Kaede groaned and shook the foot that had had something pricked into it. Almost immediately, her eyes snapped open and she yelled in pain. The foot was her bad foot, and two medical nin had been working on it until her little resistance to treatment.

"It's OK, calm down," one of the nin said, patting her knee reassuringly, but Kaede would have none of it. She writhed and spat out vulgar words and yelled whenever her foot was jostled. These people had no right to be touching her!

That is, until a strong, warm hand rested on her shoulder, and a velvety voice said, "You're fine, Kaede. Quit being a baby."

The recognition of the voice startled Kaede so much that she stopped struggling, and the medical nin went back to their work. The warmth that the hand on her shoulder brought to her was astonishing, and she barely dared to look up into the person's face.

Sasuke Uchiha stood next to her, his face as stony as every, but something was different in his eyes. Kaede refused to notice it, though, and turned her attention back to the nin working on her ankle. "What are you doing here, Sasuke?"

She could almost feel the change in his eyes, and his hand dropped from her shoulder. "Kakashi told me to watch you so Naruto could go home," he said stiffly, his whole demeanor offensive and closed up. "If you don't want me here, then fine, I'll leave." He turned to do just that, and Kaede let him go. Sasuke was just too confusing a problem to be dealt with right now.

Kaede barely noticed when the medical nin were finished, but as soon as they told her they were done, she stood. And it didn't hurt!

The urge to hug both of the hospital workers was almost uncontainable, but she managed and walked quickly out of the hospital that she spent way too much time in. Outside, Kaede found Naruto leaning against the brick wall of the hospital, apparently waiting for her. She smiled when she saw him and gave the ninja a quick hug.

"Hey, Naruto!"

"Kaede, are you doing better? Hey, you're walking!" Naruto exclaimed, and patted his teammate roughly on the shoulder. "Alright!"  
Kaede laughed. Naruto was like the older brother she figured that she'd never had, considering that she didn't remember any siblings at all. Being around the blonde had an almost homey feel, and she craved that sensation that she couldn't remember ever having. But since she didn't know what home felt like, Naruto's being there was a good thing. Wasn't it?  
"Do you want me to walk you home?" Naruto offered, but Kaede shook her head.

"No," she said, pushing a lock of dark hair behind her ear. "It's OK. I think I can make it there by myself. No worries, right, Naruto?"

Grinning, Naruto gave her the "nice guy" smile, except it didn't sparkle as Rock Lee and Gai-sensei's had been known to do. "Right! But don't think I'll go easy on you next time we're paired up!"

And the blond was off.

Shaking her head, a grin spreading across her face, Kaede began the walk to the orphanage. Her sandaled feet hit the ground in a slow procession, sending up small clouds of dirt when they did. She walked slowly, wanting to savor the feel of the day. The sun was out and shining, it wasn't as cold as it had been, and everyone seemed to be in a good mood. The men and women passing her in the street smiled friendly smiles, nodded to her, or waved brightly. This was Kohnoha for you, she figured, returning each kind gesture with a grin or nod of her own.

Then her mind got to turning. Naruto had been waiting outside the hospital for her—hadn't Sasuke said that Kakashi had sent the blonde home to rest? If he had, then obviously Naruto had disobeyed his sensei. But even that wasn't like Naruto. Then wouldn't that mean that Sasuke had come to visit her of his own accord?  
Kaede's heart gave a little flutter, and she felt her grin growing. Maybe he had visited her not because their sensei had ordered him to, but because he'd wanted to! The thought just encouraged her excitement, and she burst into a run. She just had to go see him, even with the risk of being blown off again.



In no time Kaede made it to the Uchiha district, the lonely, deserted Uchiha district. She racked her brain for the memory of the one time that she'd been to Sasuke's house. Well, almost all the houses looked the same. But one of them looked a little more kept up than the others. Using her best guess, she walked up onto the front porch, raised her fist, and hesitantly knocked on the door.

Nothing.

Discouraged, Kaede turned, ready to walk off the porch, out of the district, and go back to the orphanage. She stopped, though, when the door behind her creaked open and someone stepped out. Swiveling on her heels, she met the bland gaze of Uchiha Sasuke.

They stared at each other for a few moments, neither of them speaking. Kaede couldn't say why Sasuke didn't say anything, but her mind had gone blank and her mouth dry at the sight of the boy. She fought to speak, found she couldn't form the words—the only thing that came out of her mouth was a grunt—and looked at her feet. And then Sasuke did something strange. He stepped aside and held the door open for her, gesturing for her to go ahead inside.

Hesitant, Kaede stepping into the Uchiha's house. It was just as she remembered—wooden floors, steps leading up into the main part of the house. She took her shoes off at the steps, and allowed an already barefoot Sasuke to lead her into the living room part. Or what she guessed was the living room—she didn't know.

Carefully she sat down on the floor on a little mat, blinking curiously as Sasuke kneeled in front of her. They once again took up their staring, Sasuke's gaze unreadable, and Kaede's sure to betray her and reveal what she was thinking. Great ninja could read a persons thoughts just by watching their body language, and Sasuke was well on his way to becoming one of those great ninja.

Sasuke opened his mouth, apparently about to say something, another unexpected action. He hesitated, then seemed to blurt out the words. "How's the ankle?"  
Kaede raised her eyebrow. Sasuke seemed oddly out of character with himself, a lot more talkative it seemed, and even a little uncomfortable, if that was possible. "It's fine. The medical nin did a great job on it."

More silence. This time, Kaede couldn't take the staring game anymore, so she looked down at her hands. She laced her fingers together, then unlaced them, and began to twiddle her thumbs. It was a stupid nervous habit, but when she was unruffled and unsure, she couldn't help but do it. It almost seemed like her hands worked of their own accord during these kinds of situations, and she loathed them for it. The nervous habit thing and the biting her nails thing were two problems that she'd just have to overcome to be a better ninja.

When she did gather up the courage to look at Sasuke again, he wasn't there. She stood, confused. Where had he gone? Curious and even more nervous, Kaede walked over to the door on the far side of the living room. It was slightly ajar, so she figured that that was where he'd gone. She opened it just a little more and peeked through.

There was Sasuke, digging around in the fridge for something to eat. She slipped into the kitchen, standing awkwardly by the door. "Um…."

Sasuke's head shot up, and he quickly shut the fridge door, pressing his back against it for a moment before his regular cool demeanor came on and he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"What is it?" he asked dully, his eyes half-closed, his expression emotionless.

Kaede swallowed, and said, "I…don't know. I just kind of looked up and…you weren't there. So I saw the door open…and I came in, and there you were, and here we are." She flushed, embarrassed by her blabbering. Why couldn't she keep her big fat mouth shut?!

Sasuke sighed. "Not that. I could've guessed that myself, idiot. I want to know why you came over here. What do you want?"

Her embarrassment fading, Kaede clenched her fists and turned to face the wall, fighting to hold back her bubbling anger. "I don't _know_ why, Uchiha. I just came over here after I left the hospital. Maybe I wanted to say 'thank you' since you calmed me down, but I see that it was a mistake." She moved around and glared at him. "You don't know how to be grateful." Her hand shot out, grabbed the door, and yanked it open. She strode through angrily, barely conscious that Sasuke was following behind her.

Halfway across the living room, a hand grabbed her and turned her around. Her hazel eyes bore angrily into Sasuke's black ones, which looked odd. Odd for Sasuke, at least. They were gentler, a little hurt, and a little confused.

"What do you think you're doing, Uchiha?" Kaede snarled, trying to yank her arm from his iron grasp. "I was leaving, isn't that what you want?"

"Kaede," he said quietly, pulling her closer. She squirmed in his grip.

"Let me go!" she yelled. "You don't want me here, and I shouldn't have come! Sasuke, let go of me, right now! I mean it, you'd better put me down or—" She was rather rudely interrupted by Sasuke's lips crashing onto hers.

For a moment she struggled, but his strong arms gripped her around the waist and back tightly, and she soon found herself falling into the kiss. She kissed him back, lavishing in the feel of his lips against hers, the soft, tender, and yet forceful touch that sent her heart into a flurry of flutters.

When Sasuke let her go, they both stood panting for breath for a moment, staring into each others eyes. Sasuke still held her arm, but his grip was softer this time, not as forceful or demanding. His black eyes searched her hazel ones, and she felt herself melt under his gaze.

Of the two Sasuke's that she knew, she hoped with all her heart that this was the real, true one. This one returned the feelings that she hadn't known she had until now, while the other completely ignored her. But sometimes she would see the other, sweeter Sasuke emerge every so slightly from the cold, serene one.

"Sasuke," she whispered, reaching up and running one of her hands through his onyx hair. He lightly touched her cheek, his face full of an emotion that she'd longed to see there on his pale, perfect features.

He pulled her into a tight embrace, burying his face in her hair, and in turn she nuzzled into his shoulder, breathing in his sweet, individual scent.

"Kaede," he murmured, his voice slightly muffled. "I'm sorry I'm distant most of the time."

She sighed. "It's OK, Sasuke. I understand why you're that way."

He held her back at arms length. "They you'll understand why you can't let anyone know about our relationship."

* * *

**Ooh...he's in trouble!**


	7. Chapter 7

**YAY! This story has gone on for a decent amount of time! But don't think I'm stopping here. Read the chapter, love it or hate it, and review. **

**Nicola**

* * *

Kaede just stared at him. Had he just said what she thought he'd said? No, there was no way those words had just been uttered by Sasuke, her Sasuke, of all people! It was impossible that he'd said, _"Then you'll understand why you can't let anyone know about our relationship." _

Confused and frightened, Kaede said, "_What?! _What did you just say?"

Grimacing, Sasuke squinted his eyes shut and peeped out at her from the corner of his right eye. "I figured you would react this way." He ran his hands up her arms, but she yanked away from him, appalled. "Look, Kaede—."

"Oh, don't you 'Look, Kaede' me!" she yelled, backing away from him. "There has got to be something wrong with you! First you kiss me, then you act like a total jerk, and now you kiss me again and decide that no one is going to know about it. What kind of insecure freak-show would say something like that?" The tears were coming; she could feel it along with her face getting hot. She didn't care how angry and hurt Sasuke looked; all she knew was that she was ten times as upset. Didn't he know the way she felt about him? Didn't he understand what a relationship was? Ugh!

"Kaede, please, don't freak out!" Sasuke yelled, advancing towards her. Frightened, Kaede backed away from him, her hazel eyes wide and staring like a rabbit caught in headlights. The fear was building up quickly in her chest, even though what she was afraid of she didn't know.

A terrible, racking sob wrenched from her chest and out of her mouth, and she ran, her hands covering her face.

The tears wet her face and hands, the taste of salt filling her mouth. Her heart might have been torn out of her chest and ripped in a thousand pieces, but if there was one thing she wouldn't do, that was letting Sasuke see her cry. The Uchiha would surely take it as a sign of weakness, and head off for some other girl. Oh, well. Like that mattered now!  
Sob after sob erupted from Kaede's throat, and she could feel herself begin to tire from the crying. She slowed to a walk, sniffling and trying to wipe her eyes dry of the tears. But they kept coming, no matter how much she dried her cheeks with the back of her hand.

How could Sasuke do this to her? He hadn't followed her—that much she did know, but what bothered her was the look on his face. If he wanted to protect his reputation, then fine. He'd just have to do that while secretly dating some other girl. Kaede wouldn't be caught dead doing anything for Sasuke Uchiha.

_You'd go to the end of the earth for him, or farther. _

The little voice in her head startled her, and she stopped walking to look around and see if anyone was present. When no one was, she brushed the voice aside with the excuse of depression and anxiety. Except, the voice kept coming back.

_You love him, you know you do. Turn around, go on. Don't leave him behind._

The voice kept on repeating itself, saying how much Kaede loved Sasuke and that leaving him was a mistake. But what was she walking away from, anyway? Nothing, that's what. She had had nothing with Sasuke, just two kisses, a few embraces, and dozens of arguments. She didn't get along with the Uchiha—they were almost always fighting over something. Most of the time their quarrels were about stupid things.

But then she began to think of what she really was leaving.

Images of Sasuke's onyx hair, his black eyes, and his little hint of a smile she'd sometimes catch him with when he was looking at her. The way his hair blew back and forth as he jumped, the feel of his arm around her shoulders and the way he smelled. Every memory sent sparks through Kaede's body, but she pressured them back.

"No," she said out loud, speaking both to herself and the little hypnotic voice in her head. "I won't go back to him. He hurt me, and he deserves to suffer."



The next day, the official start of the week that Kakashi had given his team off, was a stressful and painful one for Kaede.

She awoke on a tearstained pillow, having cried herself to sleep the night before, and with a terrible headache. It took a great deal of courage on her part to roll out of bed, but when she did, she found that the pulsating pain in her head diminished. Slowly she dragged herself to the bathroom, took off her pajamas, and stepped into the warm shower. The hot water spouting from the showerhead hit numb skin, and Kaede didn't even care to turn it down. Steam emitted from the water, but she couldn't feel the heated lines of water beating her back relentlessly.

Lazily she washed, dried, and changed into a pair of tight black sweatpants and a white t-shirt. There was no need to be extravagant today, she told herself as she ambled outside and into the bright sunshine.

A slight breeze caused her to shiver, but other than that she walked slowly and without effort. Her heart still ached, her eyes were dry. All she could think about was what had happened the previous day, no matter what barriers she tried to put up to block those thoughts out. Every person on the street was a nuisance, every laugh she heard was annoying. Every step she took sent merciless pain throughout her body.

Once again her eyes wanted to create tears, but there were no more left to do so. She was flat out of tears, and flat out of the energy it took to cry. The more she thought about yesterday, the more it hurt, and the more she tried to push those thoughts away, the more they pushed to the front of her mind. Each footstep was just another move on the long, painful road that Sasuke had placed her on, and there was no U-turn, and no exit lane to get off of it.

In the middle of Kohnoha, Kaede stopped and sat on the edge of the large fountain, staring into the shallow waters and the coins that lay a few inches beneath the surface. She knew that little children, and sometimes adults themselves would throw coins into the fountain, making wishes with each toss. In fact, at that moment a little boy was clutching a coin in his hand tightly, his eyes closed as he made a wish. Once his wish had been sealed onto the coin, he lightly tossed it into the water. The copper coin landed in the fountain with a _plop_.

Kaede sighed. More nagging, depressing thoughts came to her mind as she watched the little boy flounce away with his mother. The sight made her yearn for a family, the family she apparently had never had. Wouldn't she remember throwing coins into a fountain, or shopping as a small girl with her mom? Or even getting a soda with Dad while he taught her how to hold the liquid in her straw by putting her finger on the top? She couldn't think of a time like that at all. Her heart tugged in the direction of the little boy and his mother. He was so lucky.

Someone tapped her shoulder, and she turned to stare up into the always-bright face of Naruto. The blond was eager as always, and he was holding his hand out to her. She looked down into his palm to see two sliver coins resting in the middle of it. Confused, she peered up into Naruto's blue, excited eyes.

"What's this?" she managed to say, finding her voice surprisingly hoarse.

A little disturbed by the croakiness of her voice, Naruto said, "Well…I was over there on the bench—I said 'hi' before but I don't think you noticed me—and I saw you watching that little kid throw his coin into the fountain. Since I know that you don't remember much about your past, I figured…" He trailed off lamely, looking awkward and sheepish.

Kaede, on the other hand, was flattered.

"Really, Naruto? You mean it?" she asked eagerly, standing up and grabbing onto the other ninja's forearm.

"Yeah!" Naruto said eagerly, laughing. "Here, have one." He placed a coin in her hand and turned to face the fountain. "See, you just hold it to your chest, close your eyes, and make a wish. OK?"

Nodding, Kaede did as he instructed, clutching the small silver coin in her fist, holding it to her chest, and closing her eyes. She thought about her wish very hard before actually whispering the words under her breath. "Please, _please, _let me understand."

She tossed the coin lightly into the water, and the moment it hit the surface, she gasped, unable to move. Her eyes widened and she choked for breath, trying to wave her arms frantically but finding that she couldn't.

And then, she fell over backwards, feeling the cold, hard surface of the ground hitting her back before she completely blacked out.

_"Ah," a white faced man, Orochimaru, said, walking slowly around Kaede, who seemed to be close to her present age. "You're turning into quite the prodigy, my child."_

_Kaede was stony-faced, staring straight ahead as her mentor studied her. She had been training with him for as long as she could remember, which was a rather long time ago. The sannin had shaped her into his own student, into what he thought a ninja should be, and she was proving to be the perfect pupil. _

_Orochimaru knelt in front of Kaede, staring straight into her eyes. She looked back, momentarily noting Kimimaro standing behind him, and Kabuto behind her. Her eyes flicked back to her mentor's snake-like ones, evaluating his present power and ability if she decided to attack, which she highly doubted she would._

_"Now, my dear," he said in his silky voice, "you have a choice to make." _

_"What would that be, sensei?" she replied, tilting her head to the side curiously._

_"You can join me," Orochimaru offered, "or you can go back home."_

_Home._

_That word sent a pang through her, and she clutched at her chest, for once in a struggle to make a decision. Orochimaru was her sensei, and had taught her everything that she knew. But her parents…how she had dreamed of going back and seeing her mother and father again, having them wrap their arms around her, tell her how much they loved her. She wanted to see them, to hug them back, to have the feel of a family that Orochimaru was unable to provide. The one thing that she didn't have here with her sensei was a family. _

_"I want to go back home," she whispered, tears brimming in the corners of her eyes. She fought them back successfully as her sensei placed his hand on her shoulder._

_"Yes, I had a feeling you would," he said sadly, nodding to Kabuto. A warm, glowing hand swept over Kaede's face, and all went black._

"Ahh!" Kaede gasped, sitting straight up. Her forehead almost collided with Naruto's, who had been worriedly hovering over her.

"Kaede! Are you OK?" Naruto asked, blinking. "Cause if you wished to black out and scare the heck out of me, then I'm wishing for a million bucks and the power to kick Sasuke's butt!"

Normally this would've prompted a laugh from Kaede, but she couldn't feel any humor. If this was a memory, what she had just seen, then she had a family out there. She began to think, and suddenly came to a shocking and horrifying conclusion. Orochimaru—that was his name, right?—had given her a choice. The only thing that she'd lacked with him was a family, so he'd told her that she could go home. Home! But where was home? She didn't remember! Gah! If only she could, then all her troubles—save for the Sasuke thing—would be over!

Her heart thudded in her chest as she allowed Naruto to help her stand. She had to figure out where home was, and who her parents were. The memory seemed to be closer, more around the time when she'd first arrived in Kohnoha—she'd been older, more mature, more near her current age. She began to shiver uncontrollably. If this was all true, she had a family out there somewhere! She had to find them!

Shaking herself free of Naruto's grasp on her arm, Kaede fled, running quickly through the streets and not caring who she shoved aside. Where she was going, she had no idea, but what she did know was that wherever it was, she might find her family. So she allowed her legs to carry her—her body was bound to have a better memory than her own, so why wouldn't her legs take her back to her home?

Her feet took her rapidly down the streets, turning here and there, around corners and past irritated people. She could almost taste her destination, it was so close—she could absolutely feel it! Her throat was dry, there, at the end of the street. Everything began to click at the sight of the modest little house with the blue curtains, white front door, and large shaded porch. She could see herself as a child on the porch swing, in between a man and a woman who looked remarkably like her, see herself eating an ice cream cone while a slightly older girl sat next to her, eating another ice cream cone.

She made it to the porch, breathless and excited. Her heart was beating quickly, and she felt it might come out of her chest if she didn't calm down. Her hand reached for the brass knocker and paused just before touching it. The memories were coming back in floods, but they were all when she was little, no older than six. She could remember reaching for the knocker, but being too small, so a man—maybe her father—had lifted her up and allowed her to grab it.

Swallowing hard, she grasped the knocker in her cold, shaking fingers and rapped the door three times. In the moments it took for someone to answer, she felt all her courage and excitement fading—what if this was the wrong house, or what if they'd all moved out? What if something tragic had happened to them and they were all dead? Oh, God, what was she doing here?

A woman with dark hair that matched Kaede's answered the door, her green eyes curious and apprehensive. She looked pretty, and she had barely any wrinkles, but you could see that she was older. "Yes?" the woman asked, and for the first time Kaede saw a hint of tiredness in the lady's voice.

"Um, hi," she said quietly, unsure of what to do now. "Can—can I talk to you out here for a sec?" _Oh, stupid, stupid, stupid! Just run now why you have the chance! _That stupid little voice!

"I guess so, sure," the woman complied, and motioned for them to take a seat on the porch swing. Kaede did so nervously, finding it hard to breathe.

Silence overcame them, and they just sat there, swinging slightly on the swing. Kaede was trying to work up the courage to say something. Finally, she settled on a few words. "Did you have a daughter who went missing a while ago?"

Apparently surprised by the question, the woman nodded slowly. "Yes," she said, watching Kaede with suspicious eyes. "I mean, I suppose most of Kohnoha knows about it, but why do you ask?"

"How old would you say she'd be now?" Kaede felt dumb asking questions about herself, but she couldn't just come out and say, "Hey, I'm you're long lost daughter. Give me a hug, Mommy!" now could she?

The woman answered without hesitation. "About thirteen," she said firmly, and Kaede could see the mourning she felt for her long lost daughter. Heart twisting and that little voice screaming at her to get out of there quick, Kaede nodded.

"Oh." That's all she said. A simple little "oh." For some reason she'd found herself uttering that one syllable a lot lately. Maybe she said it so much because it expressed many different things, but whatever. She had more important matters to deal with.

_Run, run! Get out of there, now! Come on, dummy, get your butt up and move! She'll think you're crazy—you're throwing everything away! Now MOVE!_

Kaede grimaced and held her head. The woman stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you OK? Hon, are you OK?"

Barely nodding, Kaede stood up, and brought her eyes up to stare into the woman's green ones. She tried to explain to the woman what was going on, who she was, why she was here, with only a stare. She could barely breath as she prayed the woman would understand what was happening.

Realization spread over the woman's face, and she reached out to Kaede. But the voice, accompanied by her distress, had gotten to her. She leapt off the porch and took off. The woman was yelling after her, calling her back, but she didn't turn around. Everything was just too confusing. All she wanted to do was crawl in a hole and weep.

And that's exactly what she did.

She ran through the streets of Kohnoha, terror reaped on her face, her eyes no longer dry but moist with tears. An alley way opened up to her left mercifully, and she ducked into it, suddenly feeling all the weight on her shoulders. She sat on the ground, her knees up to her chest, and cried her eyes out.

Sobs wracked her body, her shoulders shaking with every one. Everything just came crashing down on her—the memories, the realization that her family was out there, Sasuke….There didn't seem to be any light to be shed on her life right now. She stared up at the sky, willing it to rain, wishing it would rain. That would just make her day a total disaster, being rained on in her current state. As she thought these horrible thoughts, the sky opened and a drizzle came, turning into a mild rain, and then a full-out downpour.

Kaede let the rain hit her, not making any attempt to find shelter. The cold droplets of water sank through her shirt and pants, chilling her skin to the bone. Shivers took over her, and she couldn't stop them. She knew that staying out in the freezing rain would cost her later, but she didn't care. Nothing mattered to her, nothing at all. Not her family, not Naruto, or Sakura or Kakashi-sensei, not even Sasuke.

_Sasuke._

The name brought on a fresh flood of tears, the warm, salty droplets mixing with the cold rain. She was soaked, her hair plastered to her tear-and-rain stained face, her clothes heavy with water. Why did everything bad happen to her? Why?!

Looking up into the sky, Kaede screamed.



Kaede was barely conscious of her surroundings. Her eyelids were heavy, everything ached, and her head was pounding. Something warm and solid was against her back, and a blanket was covering her and her source of warmth as they lay on a soft bed. She moaned lightly, and the thing beside her shifted.

A firm, warm something was around her, and she groped blindly around to grasp it tightly in her hand. It was skin, skin on someone's strong, comforting arm. She couldn't imagine who was holding her in bed, but whoever it was, was keeping her warm and still.

Then, her senses began to come back. First her sense of hearing—she heard the silent sounds of breathing and a few creaks from the bed. Her smell was next. There was something familiar about the scent wafting around her, apparently from the person behind her. Just as she was realizing where she was and who was behind her, her eyes came into focus, and she gasped.

She grabbed onto the person's arm, running her hand up the forearm, to the shoulder, and finally feeling her way to the person's face. She knew who this was; his face was so familiar, his smell, even the way he held her brought memories—both hurtful and wonderful—back to her.

Carefully and slowly, she rolled over. Her nose was nearly touching the onyx-haired boy's next to her. His black eyes bore into hers, and she managed a small, weary smile. Returning her little grin, Sasuke Uchiha gently rubbed her arm, then slowly, gently caressing her face. He scooted in closer, brushing his lips against hers quickly before moving his kiss to the tip of her nose, then to her forehead, where he let his lips stay for a moment.

"Sasuke," she whispered, moving closer to him, curling her arms between their chests. She pulled her legs up to her body, feeling suddenly colder.

Sasuke wrapped his arms completely around her, pulling her to his body, letting her nest in his strong chest. "You were cold," he said simply in a quiet voice, stroking her hair. "I couldn't let you freeze."

"Mmm…thank you," she said softly, lifting her chin to stare into those black eyes again. They were full of worry, care, and something that she only dreamed to see expressed in his eyes. She returned the feelings wholeheartedly, and she knew that Sasuke understood.

"I'm sorry, Kaede," he said, burying his face in her damp hair, breathing in her scent. "I shouldn't have acted the way I did before. But I just….I don't know."

"Don't worry, Sasuke," Kaede forgave him. "I think I understand now. You have a reputation to hold, and you don't want anyone to know about our relationship, just in case someone tried to do something." Apparently catching the hint in her voice, Sasuke tightened his grip on her. "OK, yeah, I was talking about your brother." He stiffened.

"How do you know about….Itachi?"

"Kakashi-sensei told me after you broke my ankle. He wanted to explain where your anger surfaced." She pulled back a little, just enough to look him in the face.

Sasuke returned her gaze fiercely. "I'd guessed Kakashi would tell you something along those lines sometime." He paused. "That's not any reason for me to hurt you like I did. Kaede, I really like you, maybe…." Kaede understood why he couldn't say the words out loud. She nodded. "And I want us to…well…." Once again, he just couldn't bring himself to say the words, so for the first time, Kaede initiated the kiss that would seal their relationship.

"Yes," she murmured. As she rolled onto her other side, Sasuke's chest pressing into her back, her thoughts strayed back to the last straw that had broken her to pieces. She met her mother, maybe. Her mind was skeptical, but her heart told her that that woman was one of the two people that she'd been longing to know.

_Mom…_

* * *

**_Hurrah! Hurrah! I'm not so sure about this chapter, I think it went a little fast, but if you guys liked it, then I'm perfectly OK with it. I'm not sure there IS a fountain in Kohnoha, but hey, it's my fanfic, why shouldn't there be? _**

**_Next chapter, a time skip! Yay!_**

**_Nicola_**


	8. Chapter 8

**_Whoo! Two chapters in one day, that's gotta be some kind of record! Wow, I'm so proud of myself. And I'm so glad that all my reviewers send me such kind and happy comments about my story. BTW, the time skip is about three alomst four years._**

**_Nicola_**

* * *

The next few years flew by in a blur for Kaede.

After Sasuke had rescued her, they'd decided to keep their relationship on, and allow it to be public. When they had shown up hand-in-hand for a lunch with Naruto and Sakura, both of their teammates were crushed. Naruto grudgingly congratulated Sasuke, while Sakura looked on the verge of tears. Poor Sakura, Kaede had thought. She really did love Sasuke, but there was someone out there for her, too.

Eventually, Naruto and Sakura had gotten over it, and decided to—oddly enough—date each other. To this day they were happily spending their time together, now understanding each other the way that Kaede understood Sasuke, and he understood her. All four of them were blissfully aware of how lucky they were.

They still worked under the guidance of their sensei, Kakashi, who was extremely proud of all of them. All five of them were happy, strong, and proud of their work. Except for one of them.

Kaede was still a little unsettled. She hadn't faced her fears and gone to visit her parents. Every day she felt a little tug in that direction, but her pride and that dumb little voice in her head wouldn't let her go face the music.

Presently, Kaede had just woken up, and was cooking breakfast for herself and Sasuke. At age sixteen, going on seventeen, she had moved in with Sasuke about a year ago. Since then, they'd shared the Uchiha's house in the Uchiha district. Kaede, on a sudden spurring urge to redecorate, had bought furniture to furnish the majority of the house, save for two rooms: Itachi's bedroom, and Sasuke's parents' bedroom.

As she flipped the pancakes over on their other sides, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and a warm face nuzzled her neck. She giggled, gently poking at one of the arms with her spatula.

"Sasuke," she scolded, still prodding his arm. "You know I can't cook with you holding me like this. If you want your pancakes, you'd better let go."

"Mmm, or what?" the dark-haired ninja said, starting to rock them lightly back and forth. He pulled her away from the stove, turned her around, and planted a firm kiss on her lips. She quickly returned the kiss, pulling away to stare into those black eyes that never failed to confuse her. No matter how much she asked and tried to pick his brains, Sasuke wouldn't tell her everything. Even his eyes wouldn't betray him, as Kaede knew hers did all the time.

Most of the time they lived in bliss, their feelings toward each other forming such a strong bond between them that could not be broken. But they had their squabbles, as all couples did. Theirs resulted in more drastic events, though. Like once, Kaede had been angry with Sasuke for storming out when she'd given him a hug hello. Of course, she went out after him, they'd had a good yelling match, and Kaede had stayed at Sakura's for the next couple of days.

When she'd returned, feelings were still hurt, and it had taken a long time to sooth the pain and heal the wounds that were created by their fight. There'd been other arguments, which had been less….productive, would be a good word. Every day, though, Kaede brooded what really went on behind the barriers that Sasuke refused to let her through. She, too, had her secrets from him, but only one. Course, that secret tended to be a little big, but she was positive Sasuke kept more things from her than she kept from him. But, whatever. As long as they were in love, as they were, everything would be perfectly fine. Wouldn't it?  
Sighing, Kaede allowed Sasuke to pull her into a hug, which she returned gratefully. Sasuke's arms and warmth could always sooth her whirling, disturbed mind when she was having a bad day, like this one. She'd woken up with thoughts of the one thing she had yet to accomplish, just couldn't. Her heart ached with the thought of her parents being out there somewhere, and she yearned to go to that modest little house with the porch and blue curtains. The white front door from her memories beckoned her relentlessly, but she did not heed its call.

"What's on the agenda for today?" she murmured into Sasuke's black muscle shirt, her favorite shirt. The sight of him in the tight, thin fabric sent chills up her spine and a flutter to her heart.

"I dunno," he replied, letting her loose to finish his breakfast while he sat down and read the newspaper. One look at the front cover of the paper, though, told him nothing inside would be worth reading, so he just tossed it down on the table. "What do you feel like doing?"  
"Well…." Kaede tapped her spatula lightly on the edge of the counter, thinking of what she would want to do. Since Kakashi hadn't come up with any mission for them for two weeks, they had a lot of down time on their hands. In truth, she felt like doing nothing, just lounging on the couch with Sasuke and reading. "How about we spend the day just lounging around and—"

Wonderful.

She was interrupted by a loud, obnoxious knock on the door that would just not relent. Rolling his eyes, Sasuke motioned for her to go first, then followed her to the door. It was obvious who was knocking this early in the morning, and normally he would just barge in and make himself comfortable. But when he knocked like this, it meant they had something to do.

"Yeah, Naruto?" Kaede said as she opened the door. The blond—who had matured a great deal, and gotten a new outfit—had his eager-lets-get-going look on his face, and she grinned, sharing his excitement.

"We've got a mission!" he yelled happily, pounding his fist into the air and thrusting a scroll at Sasuke. Solemn as ever, Sasuke slowly opened it and read the script. He nodded, then handed it to Kaede. The scroll read,

_Team Seven,_

_We have a report of three missing children who need to be immediately rounded up. There have been sightings of the Akatsuki around the area where they went missing, and they are in danger if the assassins are currently present. Please hurry to return these children to their parents._

_Signed,_

_Tsunade_

"Alright," Kaede said, rolling the scroll back up and handing it to Naruto. "Just give us two minutes and we'll be ready." She darted back inside, turned off the stove, and threw the finished pancakes onto a plate, which she covered with plastic wrap before hurriedly dashing into her and Sasuke's room. There she tugged on her ANBU clothes, her green vest, and her black sandals. She dashed back to the front room—Sasuke was already dressed, and only had to pull on his vest, which she was carrying in for him—and ran out of the door.

Naruto followed closely behind, while Sasuke lagged behind, tugging his vest over his arms before rushing to catch up. He ran next to Kaede, all business, as he was on all missions. That was one of the things Kaede loved about him—he never let his feelings get in the way of a fight, something she had problems with sometimes, especially when Sasuke's well-being was being threatened.

The three ninja met up with Sakura and Kakashi at the ramen shop. Kakashi took his place at the head of the group, leading his students, while the four ran behind him in no specific order. Their sensei took them to a clearing before halting and motioning for them to gather around him.

"Ok, team," Kakashi said, folding his arms in his usual lazy fashion. "We have three young kids missing: a five year old boy, a nine year old girl, and a ten year old boy. The older two are expected to take care of their youngest sibling, and the oldest boy has some experience fighting, as does the kunoichi. The three are Hyuga clan children, which is why there is more urgency than any normal missing child case. They are all part of the head family, close relatives of your friend Hinata. The Hyugas are out searching, also, but they need the expertise that some of our younger ANBU trainees have with children." Kakashi paused, placing two fingers on his head and rubbing his temple.

"Kakashi-sensei, you want us to split up." Sakura hadn't said it as a question, but a statement.

"Yes, Sakura," their sensei replied, turning to look into the forest. "These kids can't fend for themselves out there."

All four teammates nodded, and automatically began breaking up into teams. Naruto and Sasuke would work together, while Sakura and Kaede went off in the opposite direction. They knew that Kakashi would summon up his dogs to help find the three kids, which he did almost immediately.

Pakkun, the little dog, and a whole pack of others appeared in front of Kakashi, all barking and letting out howls of eagerness. All except Pakkun, who was sitting placidly by Kakashi's feet, watching the other dogs bound about.

"Alright, pack," Kakashi said in an ordering voice. The pack turned their attention to him, ears pricked, but the barking didn't cease. "We're looking for three kids: two boys, and one girl. The youngest is five, the oldest is ten. I'll be right behind you." The dogs, with Kakashi a few paces behind them, set off into the trees.

Kaede and Sakura leapt into the forest, bounding from branch to branch, both attentive to everything around them as they searched for the three children. Watching Sakura, Kaede noticed how the kunoichi's training had done her good. The pink haired ninja was extremely strong, having adopted the Hokage's unnatural strength and medical abilities in their training together. She also had excellent control of her chakra, which came in handy in the medical field.

Sakura was, Kaede realized, the great ninja she'd always dreamed of becoming. Kaede smiled as she jumped next to her friend. It was great that Sakura had achieved her goal, and had a ninja as strong as Naruto to look after her. But she had to remind herself that she, too, had an excellent ninja as her beau. Sasuke.

She never forgot how lucky she was that Sasuke had taken an interest in her, and that those interests had developed into a love stronger than any wall or shield. Around her, Sasuke let all his barriers down and showed how he really felt. When he was near others, though, he kept his solemn, expressionless face on and took on his lazy posture, something he'd learned from Kakashi, Kaede knew. She also knew that she was the only one Sasuke would confide in.

Returning the favor should be her main priority, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him about her parents. Sometimes the Uchiha would catch her staring dazedly at the wall in their bedroom as she sat cuddling a pillow on the bed. He'd ask what was wrong, and she would snap out of her reverie, telling him that everything was fine and she was just thinking about training. Which was a total lie that Sasuke could definitely see through, even if he didn't say anything.

"Kaede, look!" Sakura yelled, pointing down by the base of one of the trees. Three little children were standing with their backs pressed against the bark while two men in black cloaks with red clouds advanced upon them. One had a large sword on his back, but their faces were shaded by long-brimmed hats. The other was allowing the one with the sword to do most of the talking, apparently, and watched as the smallest child wept and clung to the girl's pant leg.

"Let's go, hurry!" Kaede cried, immediately leaping onto the trunk of the tree opposite the children and the Akatsuki members. She ran down the tree, Sakura running to her left. She threw out two kunai, knocking the Akatsuki members' hats off their heads. The hats flew to a tree and pinned themselves on the bark.

The Akatsuki turned their heads to stare at the two kunoichi who had launched the attack. Kaede gasped as she saw their faces.

A viciously grinning man with a shark face was slipping his sword off his back and propped it lazily on his shoulder. He was much taller than his partner, but his appearance was not what had shocked Kaede. It was the other one.

His black hair framed his serious face, falling down his back on the inside of his cloak. Age lines marked his face under his eyes despite his obvious young age, somewhere around twenty-something, Kaede guessed. But the thing that had startled her so was the resemblance he held to her Sasuke. As she stared at him, seeing Sasuke's face in his, his black eyes became red. His red eyes held three black marks, the sign of a well-developed Sharingan.

"Uchiha Itachi," she whispered, but pushed thoughts of the irony at fighting the brother that Sasuke hated, but resembled so much out of her mind. She had a mission to do, and that was rescuing these three children. Vaguely, she wondered how they had come to annoy the two Akatsuki members.

"And Hoshigaki Kisame," Sakura said, silently telling Kaede who they would be facing. By stating their names, they had assigned themselves to their opponents.

"Ah, at least you knew our names," the shark-man, Kisame, said, shifting his sword to his other shoulder. "These are smart little girls, Itachi."

Itachi nodded, watching Kaede with quiet interest. "Indeed they are," he finally said, his posture still lazy, another reminder of Sasuke.

Sakura glanced quickly at Kaede, her eyes darting back almost immediately to the sword that Kisame held. Raising an eyebrow at her teammate's silent request, Kaede studied the shark-man's sword. Both her eyebrows shot up her forehead before settling solemnly back in place. Even beneath the bandages she could see the kind of sword he held. It was a shaving sword; it didn't slice as normal swords would—it had a jagged edge to it that made more of a shaving effect. Definitely more painful. She racked her brains for something, anything that she'd read about the Akatsuki. A little tidbit that she remembered came back to her. The only reason she remembered it was because she'd doodled underneath it during class. Kisame's sword, Samehada, not only shaved whomever it struck; it also absorbed a small amount of the chakra of the person with each slash or hit.

A quick look at Sakura told Kaede that she, too, knew this and that she'd wanted Kaede to be aware. Kaede was grateful to her teammate, and understood what risks were with fighting Kisame. But what she didn't know was the extent of the power that Itachi possessed. If he could kill his own clan at such a young age, leave his brother in that kind of misery, and gain the kind of reputation he had with the Akatsuki, the guy must be extremely powerful.

Don't worry about it, she told herself, whipping out another kunai. She could take him on long enough for Kakashi's dogs to track them down, and surely they would leave at the sight of her sensei following a huge, vicious pack of sharp-toothed canines. Wouldn't they?

Being naïve about this would not get her anywhere, so she reminded herself that if Kakashi arrived, he could rescue the children, and she and Sakura might have a chance to run. For now, though, she had to fight with gusto.

She lunged at Itachi, slashing skillfully at his cloak and face. Itachi moved easily away from her strikes, seeming to float above the ground. His cloak created that illusion, that was all, she convinced herself, but it didn't really work. Everything about the dangerous Uchiha was suspicious and a little disturbing. For some reason, she felt as if he could read her mind and unlock things she didn't want resurfaced.

A moment later, she realized how true that was.

Unknowingly, she made the mistake of quickly glancing over Itachi's eyes, the kind of slip up he'd been waiting for. In a moment, his Mangekyou Sharingan activated, and the marks in his eyes turned into kind of a pinwheel. Kaede gasped and shut her eyes, but it was too late. She was already in his spell.

When she dared to open her eyes again, she found that she was on a cross in a black, white, gray, and red world. This world, she frighteningly remembered, was called Tsukiomi, and was the worst kind of illusion—it was inescapable, at least to those who did not understand the full extent of the Mangekyou.

A thousand or more Itachi's were in front of them, and she could feel him searching through her mind for a memory, a painful one, one that would hurt her physically as well as mentally. A grim hint of a smirk danced in the eyes of each Itachi, and suddenly they turned into Sasuke's.

Kaede's eyes widened, and she stared horrified at the sight before her. Every single Sasuke was angry, viciously angry, with the same expression on their faces as Sasuke had had when he'd broken her ankle that day many years ago. "No," she whispered, but they didn't seem to hear. Her beloved Sasuke, the one whose heart she only half-knew.

"I hate you," they said in unison, but it sounded like only one. His deep, velvety, angry voice sliced through her like a million kunai. Each had a katana in their hand, and viciously they thrust the swords one by one into her body, in her chest, her stomach, her arms and legs. She screamed in pain, pain unlike anything she'd experienced before, pain that course through her entire being. The swords and the angry words that came from Sasuke's mouth seemed to slice through her body and straight into her mind, into her soul. And their was nothing she could do about it.

As the last sword swung towards her neck, she closed her eyes, and everything went black and numb.



Pain.

Pain was everywhere.

That was the only conscious thought that Kaede had. And it wasn't just physical pain—it was pain that surged through her heart as the memories of Tsukiomi came back to her. Slowly her mind began to process everything else around and on her. Something prickly was in her arm and it hurt when she shifted. When she did shift, something warm squeezed her hand and a sweet, velveteen voice whispered, "Baby? Kaede? Hon, it's me, please wake up."

Eager to hear the voice again, she tried to squeeze back, swallowing back a cry from the physical pain that the movement sent through arm. That prickly thing in her arm, she realized, was an IV, and she was probably hooked up to a drip. That velvety voice that was softly cooing encouraging words to her was the voice of her beloved, the voice of the one who had hurt her so in Tsukiomi.

"Sasuke," she whispered, struggling against her heavy eyelids. They didn't want to open, but she forced them, and her vision came quickly into focus.

She was in a hospital room—great, not again—and Sasuke was sitting to her right, cradling her hand in his. His black eyes were worried and frightened, she could tell that she'd upset him by getting herself landed in the hospital again. But it wasn't her fault, it was Itachi's. Oh. My. God.

Jerking upright, Kaede stared forcefully into Sasuke's eyes, silently telling him that she needed to talk to him. But she couldn't, not with Kakashi and Naruto by the door, not with Sakura bustling about like the skilled medical nin she was.

Sasuke cleared his throat, glancing over to his teammates and sensei. "Leave us alone for a few minutes," he said. It wasn't a request; it was a demand. Nodding, Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi left the room, closing the door quietly behind them.

As soon as the door was shut, Kaede grabbed Sasuke in a desperately needed hug. He embraced her back, but gently, for she was now weeping from the pain the sudden movement had caused. She cried into his shoulder, thankful that she was here with her Sasuke, holding him like she was supposed to, but confused about what had happened in Tsukiomi. She was well aware that the Sasuke's in Tsukiomi were illusions that Itachi had created to hurt her, but she couldn't shake the way that they had looked at her, the way they had spoken to her in such a tone.

"Oh, Kaede," Sasuke said softly, carefully laying her back down on the hospital bed. She sniffed and took a deep breath.

"Sasuke, I have to talk to you," she managed to croak out of her unusually dry throat. She reached for the glass of water on her bedside table, even thought it caused her arms to ache. In one gulp she down half the glass, and in another it was gone. Setting the glass back down, she looked intently at Sasuke. "I was attacked by a user of the Sharingan. I don't know if Sakura told you who it was, and when I tell you, I want you to stay calm and not overreact." Sasuke nodded, his jaw tight. Kaede knew that Sakura would want her to be the first to reveal who she'd been attacked by. "Sakura and I saw the three children cornered by two members of the Akatsuki. One of them was Hoshigaki Kisame, whom Sakura took on. The other was your brother, Uchiha Itachi."

Sasuke visible shook, his fists clenched in anger, but he stared at the wall on the far side of the hospital room, nodding for her to go on.

She did so reluctantly, knowing this would bring up more rifts between her and Sasuke. "I attacked him, and I made the mistake of glancing into his eyes." As she spoke, the whole thing came back to her with a renewed vengeance. She shuddered and continued to speak. "He put me in Tsukiomi, and…and…." It was impossible to go on. Her voice cracked and the tears started all over again.

Concerned, Sasuke squeezed her hand and looked into her eyes again. "It's OK. You don't have to tell me what he did to you. It's in your eyes." She nodded, a little angry that her eyes had once again betrayed her. It hurt her to know that Sasuke could see what his brother had put her through.

"He knows now that I care about you," he said quietly, and she began to think that this conversation was not going to end very well. "It's dangerous for you." He seemed to be contemplating what he could do about this. There were two options, Kaede knew, that he was probably weighing. Number one, let her go. Number two, protect her at the price that she will always be in danger, as would he.

But then he surprised her by smiling and bringing her hand up to his lips for a chaste kiss. "But that doesn't matter. I won't let that get in the way of us."

Relief spread through her like a wave of welcome heat. "Sasuke….thank you."



Two days later, Kaede was released from the hospital, and was taken home by an ecstatic Sasuke. He made her lie on the sofa while he went and whipped up two cups of tea. She stayed where he'd instructed her to, picking up the selection of books that was almost always on the coffee table.

There were several popular novels, a few ninja handbooks, and, for humor, an old, battered joke book. She smiled to herself and set the books back on the table. Whatever Sasuke had planned for her would last all day. Kakashi had given them both a merciless three days off of training and missions.

A few minutes later Sasuke returned carrying two steaming mugs of hot, sweet tea, and sat down next to her on the couch. She moved into an upright sitting position and gladly took her mug from him, sipping gratefully on the warm liquid. He pulled her against him, leaning against the arm of the couch. She lay on his chest, snuggled up close to him, the warmth of his body combined with the hot tea helping wash away the thoughts of Tsukiomi that haunted her.

Her Sasuke was here, her Sasuke was holding her in his arms. All was right with the world, she knew.

In the hospital, she had learned that Sakura had held her own against Kisame until Kakashi had arrived. Kakashi had threatened Itachi with something that Sakura said she wouldn't repeat, and the two Akatsuki left, leaving the children unharmed.

Naruto and Sasuke had caught up with them right after the assassins had departed, and helped carry the children and Kaede back. They'd taken all four of them to the hospital, where she'd been placed in a room, and the children had been checked over and handed back over to their parents.

Kaede was proud to know that she'd helped in even a small way with the return of the kids. Their names, she'd learned, were Tsui, the littlest boy, Ai, the girl, and Tam, the oldest. All three of them and their parents had visited her in the hospital and thanked her with flowers and a hand-made card signed by every one of them.

Now here she was, in the arms of her beloved, where she was supposed to be, and the children were home with their mom and dad. A hollow feeling came back to her, and she buried her face further into Sasuke's chest. Sure, the children were home with their parents, but what about hers? They were alone in that modest little house, probably mourning still over the disappearance of their daughter, and how close they had come to bringing her home again.

Her heart ached from a void in her life that even Sasuke couldn't fill. She mentally weighed the pros and cons of revealing herself to her parents, and smiled. If she went, Sasuke would be there for her. No matter what.

It was settled then. She'd go visit her parents tomorrow.

* * *

**_Aww! I love this chapter. I wrote it so fast, but I figured some action had to go on. And I tried to make Sasuke as non-OCC as possible, so he only acts like himself when he's around just Kaede. When he's around other people, he's his cold self again. And I decided to put Itachi in there for a little bit of worry and excitement._**

**_Review!_**

**_Nicola_**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey! Sorry it took so long to update--school, state testing, FFA State Convention (we placed third, YAY!), and all this other junk, including getting sick! Wow, these past few weeks have been busy. Well, here you go!**

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Kaede sat at the kitchen table, slowly moving her eggs around with her fork. Sasuke sat across from her, and she could feel his eyes curiously watching her brood and mess with her breakfast. She heard him chew his breakfast of choice, biscuit, tomatoes, and eggs, slowly and absentmindedly.

Her appetite was lost; she really hadn't had one to begin with, anyways. The eggs on her plate looked as unappetizing as, well, three-day-old ramen noodles, a rather grotesque sight if you asked her. She knew Sasuke was waiting for her to tell him what was wrong, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything. The Uchiha had infinite patience, though, and he would wait her out.

Yesterday she'd come home from the hospital and spent her day curled up with her Sasuke on the couch. Yesterday's tomorrow was here, and she was putting off revealing what her plan for the day was.

Sasuke stood up from the table, took his plate to the sink, and rinsed it off. He left it there, walked back to his chair, and sat back down again. His black eyes bore into her forehead, since she was staring down at her plate without really seeing it. Her hair spilled over the side of her face, blocking her eyes from sight. She sighed, and set her fork down, not looking up from her plate once.

They sat there in silence for a few more minutes before Sasuke got up, took her plate from her, and tossed the uneaten food into the trash can. The plate went into the sink along with his, and he left into the living room. Kaede still sat there; dread seeping into her being at the prospect of taking Sasuke to meet her parents, parents that she hadn't seen in years and years.

Finally tired of her own procrastinating, Kaede stood up so fast that her chair skidded a few feet backwards. Hearing the commotion in the kitchen, Sasuke appeared in the door, his face drawn and worried. "Kaede, are you OK?"

She nodded and walked past him. If she was going to meet her parents, she would do it without Sasuke. It would probably upset him if he saw her mother and father embracing their long lost daughter. By the front door, she yanked her shoes on and walked outside into the empty street. As long as she'd been living with Sasuke, the lonely, vast Uchiha district never failed to send chills up her spine, as if she were walking on a virtual giant graveyard.

Sasuke's rapid footsteps followed her outside and his firm hand grabbed her upper arm, swinging her around to face him. "What is wrong?" he said slowly and demandingly, staring straight into her eyes, not allowing her to break his gaze.

Her body still ached from the Tsukiomi, but not so much that she was going to let him hold her still. She tried to yank her arm out of his grasp, failing miserably. His angry expression left no room for her to escape. She sighed. "OK," she relented, finally meeting his glare with a level stare. "I'm going to go…see my parents."

Shocked, Sasuke dropped his hand from her arm and stared at her blankly. For once, he was at loss for words. Well, OK, at loss for words for the first time around her, at the very least. "What? Your…..parents….?"

"Yes," Kaede said, and sniffled, trying to hold back her tears. Seeing this, Sasuke pulled her into a warm, welcome embrace and kissed the top of her head. He rubbed her back gently, shushing her sobs.

"It's OK, Kaede. Don't worry. You don't have to explain anything to me—I'll go with you. Shh, baby, it's alright." Kaede pulled back a little from him, looking up into his face, her eyes hopeful.

"Really, Sasuke?" When he nodded, she wrapped her arms around his neck and leapt into his arms. He held her above the ground, against his chest, laughing.

"Did you think I'd let you down for anything?" he chuckled, swinging her around in a circle before setting her back down on the ground. "Now come on." He took her hand in his. "I assume you know where they live?"

"Yes," Kaede said, finally feeling that dripping dread cease, and in its place came the realization that Sasuke would go to the end of the earth for her. She smiled to herself, swinging her arm as she and her beloved walked out of the Uchiha district, headed for the house she used to live in as a very young child.



"Oh, I don't wanna do this!" Kaede groaned, trying to turn around and dash off the porch and out into the street. But Sasuke wouldn't let her; he held steadfast onto her hand and gently pulled her back, a playful grin on his face.

"Kaede," he laughed, wrapping one arm around her shoulder and giving her shoulders a squeeze. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure they'll be thrilled to see you. And no running away, OK?"

Reluctantly she nodded and reached for the brass knocker. She rapped it three times and stood back, clinging desperately to Sasuke's arm. Her fingers wrapped around his bare arm, squeezing tightly as her other hand clenched his hand. He glanced down at her, understanding her nervousness and anticipation.

The door opened and a man this time stood in its frame. His hazel eyes looked both of them up and down, and Sasuke tightened his grip on Kaede's shoulders. The man was tall and strong-looking, apparently a retired ninja. He wore his headband around his neck, and his dark hair stuck out at odd angles, but in a nice-looking sort of way. His face resembled the structure of Kaede's, and he narrowed his eyes at the sight of two teenage ninjas on his porch.

"Yes?" he asked, looking between the two. "What is it?"  
Kaede gulped and glanced helplessly up at Sasuke, who sighed. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke, and this is Kaede." A little at a loss for words, he cleared his throat before continuing, "She's come here before, but that was about three years ago."

It took a moment, but the recognition spread over the man's face and he took a step back, his eyes wide and staring into Kaede's. He reached out to them, grabbed Sasuke's arm, and pulled them inside. Acting as almost an anchor, Kaede planted her feet, but her Sasuke hauled her in behind him.

Once the door was shut, the man yelled for his wife to get in there, right now. The woman with the dark hair that so matched Kaede's came in, wiping her hands on a towel. One look at Kaede made the woman drop the towel in shock and dash over to her husband's side.

Burying her face in Sasuke's arm, Kaede refused to look at them. She felt awkward, out of place, and like a stranger. Her heart thudded in her chest, unrelenting in its quest to make the butterflies in her stomach worsen, which they did. Her stomach churned with nervousness. She wanted out, and wanted out now. But Sasuke's arm held her in place, and she whimpered in longing. These people couldn't be her parents, no matter how much they resembled her. She couldn't face that her mother and father were right in front of her despite all the longing she'd felt for a family, for parents, for siblings, for anything!

Sasuke turned them around and lifted her chin up gently, forcing her to look in his face. "There's no turning back now, Kaede," he whispered, lightly kissing her. "It's OK, they're your parents. I can see the family resemblance." She nodded and whimpered again before finally loosening her grip on Sasuke's arm.

Heart in her throat, Kaede turned to face her parents.

The woman, her mother, had wrinkles that Kaede hadn't noticed two years ago. She was tiny, a petite lady, and Kaede would bet that she'd been very pretty as a teenager and young woman. The man standing next to her had dark hair that was graying very slightly in the back and on his sideburns. He had a mustache, wrinkles under his eyes—maybe, hopefully from smiling—and was stocky and muscled. He didn't seem to have been retired for a long time, and he wore his headband proudly around his neck. As they saw her looking at them, they grinned hesitantly.

Slowly, the woman made a move towards them. Kaede took a deep breath and approached her mother. They met in the middle, and the woman reached up to lightly touch Kaede's cheek. She shivered at the touch she hadn't felt for long years. And then her father was next to her, running his hand over her hair and pulling her into a three-person embrace. Tears began spilling out of all three pairs of eyes, and Kaede suddenly knew where her crying habit was inherited from. Sasuke stood behind her, watching everything with his usual blank expression, but his eyes were dancing.

When they pulled apart, Kaede's father held her at arms length, studying the daughter he hadn't seen in almost eleven years. "Oh, my daughter!" he cried, pulling her in for another quick hug before releasing her. Sasuke moved up and took her hand again, squeezing it reassuringly.

Her tears wouldn't stop, and she could feel them running rapidly down her cheeks. The salty taste of tears ran into her mouth, and she swallowed, leaning her head on Sasuke's shoulder. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

The man, her father, cleared his throat, unnerved by the boy holding his daughter but clearly pleased to be able to be upset about this little display of affection. Her mother was the same way, smiling in pure joy. Oh, how she had waited and dreamed of this moment!

Clearing his throat purposefully, Sasuke nodded at the next room over, apparently the living room. The man nodded and motioned for them to go ahead and sit on the couch.

Kaede sat close to Sasuke on the loveseat, still holding his hand, while her parents took their places on the long couch. Her courage was building, she could feel it, and she found that the little voice in her head telling her to run was shutting up. She licked her lips and said, "So, um, what're your names?"

Her father smiled and crossed his legs, jiggling his left foot out of habit. "Well, my name is Kyoto, and your mother's name is Tami."

"It's nice to….meet you?...Tami and Kyoto," Kaede said hesitantly, looking up at Sasuke for reassurance. He lifted one corner of his mouth in a half-grin, then went back to his cool, collected barrier. She leaned her head on her shoulder, glad that he was at least relaxed, and tried to work up the guts to ask what her name was. A part of her didn't want to know; she was so used to being called Kaede now that she didn't think she could go by anything else. It was the name that she'd been known as throughout her ninja career, and the name that Sasuke knew her by. She couldn't change it, not ever.

"If you're wondering," Tami said, her hands clasped in her lap. "Your name, your real name, is Chitose. It means to ascend with the strength of a thousand." Obviously pleased by her and her husband's choice in names, Tami looked up to Kyoto with a grin, placing her hand on his knee.

"Oh." Ugh! She hated that word! Why did she always say it when there should be something more intelligent to reply with?!

Sensing her irritation at her own stupidity, Sasuke gave her hand a quick squeeze before saying, "She goes by Kaede now," in a firm, authoritative voice.

Kyoto scowled, apparently angry at some stupid boy telling him what to call his own daughter, even though he hadn't seen her in nearly eleven years. "I think I know what to call my daughter, thank you." He glared daggers at Sasuke, who returned his stare with a calm, indifferent face. "I didn't happen to catch your name, young man."

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke said, "I told you when we first arrive. My name is Uchiha Sasuke."

Tami's eyes widened in recognition, but Kyoto just scowled further. Kaede gripped Sasuke's hand tighter, having a bad feeling that this wasn't going to turn out very well. Oh, she shouldn't have come at all! It had been a mistake to ruin her perfect life like this. Why was she so damn dumb?

"Oh, Chitose, honey," Tami cried, dashing across the room with tear-filled eyes to embrace her daughter. "We've missed you," she murmured, her voice muffled from the tightness of the hug. When she separated herself from a rather shocked Kaede, the woman said, "When you were six, you suddenly disappeared at the market. We searched for years for you, but we finally gave up after your tenth birthday. For four years we looked and looked and hoped and prayed, but were never found. Until now."

Not one for mushy confrontations unless they involved Sasuke, Kaede smiled nervously and leaned even closer to said Uchiha, who wrapped his arm around her.

"How did you get back and find us?" Kyoto asked suddenly; Kaede would've bet anything that he'd been some kind of interrogator for ANBU. He got right to the point with everything, didn't he?

"I…all I know was that I was found outside the gates of Kohnoha, and I woke up with no memory," Kaede said slowly, testing her words and finding them satisfactory.

"Then how did you know where to find us?" Kyoto said sharply, causing Sasuke to stiffen. This man had just met his daughter after a very long time—how dare he interrogate her this way!

"She doesn't have to explain everything right now," Sasuke said in a low, angry voice, his black eyes narrowed dangerously. Kyoto didn't look fazed, merely curious about what had become of his daughter.

"And what would you be, her representative?" Kyoto replied calmly, folding his hands in his lap. "I believe she can speak for herself. And I understand that it doesn't seem right to ask these kinds of questions on a first visit, but I cannot let this just pass willy-nilly. There are things we need to know about her disappearance, such as who took her, where she was, what happened to her there, and how she is still alive."

This time, Kaede was angry. She stood up abruptly, nearly knocking her mother off the arm of the loveseat, and Sasuke stood with her. Both were stiff, angry, and frustrated. "Look, Kyoto," Kaede said in a no-nonsense voice. "I didn't come here to be interrogated and have my brains picked for 'valuable information'. I came here to make amends with my family, maybe get to know them." She looked up at Sasuke. "But now I see that it was a mistake. Let's go, Sasuke."

She led the Uchiha outside onto the porch, her anger close to a boiling point, and her whole body aching mercilessly. Once in the fresh air, she took a deep breath to stem the flow of her tears and jumped off the porch, ignoring the steps. Sasuke was right by her side, holding her hand and letting her know that he was there for her.

Loud, quick footsteps followed them onto the porch, and she heard Tami's urgent voice calling, "Please, Chitose! Don't leave! Come back, please, come back!" The woman's voice cracked, and Kaede's heart tugged. It wasn't her fault, she realized. It was Kyoto's fault. That man was just too ANBU-made for her liking, and she couldn't stay around him. His questions pushed her to tell everything that she remembered, things that she didn't want anyone—with the exception of Sasuke—to know.

She turned around for a moment and gave the woman a pleading gaze, a gaze that she hoped said that she would be back soon, just to see her. Sasuke tugged lightly on her hand, and the continued to walk quickly down the street. Kaede looked over her shoulder for one last glance at the little house, then looked away, unable to bear the sight without crying.



Instead of going to their lonely little house in the deserted Uchiha district, Kaede and Sasuke went to the main street of Kohnoha, where they now sat on a bench in front of the fountain. Sasuke had offered to throw several coins into said fountain, but, gloomy and frustrated, Kaede refused and requested ice cream, which Sasuke had gladly bought.

She was barely interested in her chocolate cone, licking disdainfully at the cold ice cream while Sasuke allowed his vanilla one to drip slowly onto the wood of the bench. Kaede didn't care about her ice cream very much, so she tossed it onto the ground at her feet and leaned back against the bench, staring up at the sky. The sun was setting, and she could see the beginning of a starry night sky above the pink and orange glows of the sunset. She yearned to stay outside for the rest of the night, just looking at each individual star and wondering what secrets they held. Now that the pieces of her past were falling into place, she wanted them to scatter again, never to be found. It hurt too much to think about it.

And yet….

"Kaede?"

She started at the sound of her name, turning her head to look at her black haired Sasuke. Her eyes urged him on, and he continued, "I think we should go home."

Slowly she nodded and stood. Sasuke dumped his uneaten and melting ice cream cone into a trash can and put his arm around her waist. "Come on."

They began the long walk home, ambling along in comfortable silence. She leaned her head on Sasuke's tall shoulder, her hands resting lightly on his chest. Their house was rather far away from the middle of Kohnoha, but she was up for a nice, calm stroll. The sky was darkening further by the time they were halfway there, the stars showing even more. But then, an ANBU ninja leapt down in front of them, startling Kaede to no end. She gripped Sasuke's shirt and his arm tightened around her waist, reassuring her.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked coolly, staring at the ninja was narrowed eyes.

Slightly intimidated but still intent on delivering his message, the ninja replied, "I have a request from the Hokage. She wishes to meet with you tonight about a mission that needs to be completed immediately." When Sasuke still glared at him with no response, the ninja sighed. "You must come now."

Horrified, Kaede looked up at Sasuke with eyes as wide as saucers. He couldn't leave her now! She needed him more than anything, especially tonight. Her heart thudded rapidly in her chest, reacting to the realization that Sasuke wasn't going to be there for her like he normally would be.

With a regretful look on his face, Sasuke leaned down and kissed Kaede on the lips. She leaned into it, savoring the feel, but it ended too soon and he was standing next to the ANBU ninja. "I'll see you soon," he promised, and the two disappeared.

Kaede sniffled and rubbed her chilly arms. The night air was a lot cooler than she had expected, and without Sasuke there to keep her warm, it was even worse. The hollow feeling in her chest she had felt a long time ago when she'd first met Sasuke came back, creating almost a void in her being. She shuddered, stumbling on slowly to get back to their house, fighting back tears that threatened to overflow. The intensity of the ninja's voice came back to her, the words filling her head with realization. He'd said that the mission needed to be completely immediately, right now. It must be dangerous. Oh! Her Sasuke!

No, he can take care of himself, she told herself, but dread still consumed her, only widening the gaping void in her chest. There was no way that Sasuke would get hurt. He was a great, skilled ninja, and not only that but he possessed the Sharingan. In the past years, he'd advanced to three marks, and was trying to develop a fourth, if that was possible. But if anyone could do it, Sasuke could.

A sudden urge to be in the company of someone else washed over Kaede, and she started to turn to dash and stay at Sakura's. She stopped in mid-turn and sighed. It wouldn't feel right staying with the pink-haired kunoichi—Sakura would most likely have Naruto over for the night or something. She would just have to suck it up and spend the night alone.

She ran the last several miles home and burst into an empty, dark house. The house seemed haunting, almost unlivable, but she took off her shoes as normal and padded noisily into the living room. From there, she went into the hallway and to the bathroom. She gazed disdainfully at the shower, too weak to even contemplate a long, difficult bath. Instead, she turned around, left the bathroom, and went into her and Sasuke's bedroom. She changed into her pajama pants and one of Sasuke's shirts, basking in the smell of his shampoo and cologne.

The bed looked empty and uninviting, but she lay down on it anyway, pulling the covers up to her chin and tucking a pillow next to her where Sasuke would normally be. Her heart ached for her beautiful Uchiha, and the pain was almost unbearable. She bit her lip to keep from crying, but the tears came anyway, all the hurt and frustrations from the day pouring out of her like a rush of waters through a broken dam. Why her tear ducts always betrayed her, she didn't know.

A small whimper escaped her lips, the whimper turning into a sob, and that sob turning into a flat-out wail. Screaming was not an option, but wailing and weeping in a place where no one would hear her was. She tried to clamp her mouth shut against each little wail or cry, but they came anyway.

As the night wore on, she felt herself drifting into a lonely, sad sleep. Her mind strayed to better days, when they were young, when she and Sasuke had just been kids fighting back their difficult feelings. Back to days when life had been easy and straightforward.

But life wasn't so easy anymore.

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**Howdy! I liked this chapter, even if it took me long to write, and the whole conflict between Kaede and her parents was fun. Don't shoot me for making Sasuke go away--this will be a big part of the story, especially for the second part that I plan on writing.**

**I'm sad to say there will be only one more chapter, and then the sequel, which has a whole new twist and turn and all that other exciting stuff. Read and Review, my lovely readers and reviewers!**

**Nicola**


	10. Chapter 10

**OK, this is the last chapter--don't kill me, please--but it's only the last chapter because I want to get on to the sequal that I've already started and am extremely excited about! **

**So here's the last--and rather short--chapter.**

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Kaede woke the next morning—or rather, afternoon—feeling groggy, stiff, and as if a hole had been ripped out of her heart. She slowly drew the covers off, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and shivering as her feet were chilled by the cold floor. She rested her elbows on her knees and pressed her hands to her temples. A vicious headache pounded the edges of her skull, blurring her vision. Sasuke's over-sized shirt draped loosely over her sagging shoulders, enveloping her in a sea of black material. She was utterly swimming in the shirt, but she didn't care. It was a small reminder of Sasuke.

Eventaully, she worked up enough energy to drag her feet into the kitchen and pull a bottle of water out of the fridge. She sat at the kitchen table, leaning heavily on one hand pressed against the side of her face, and sipped from the bottle. She heaved a deep sigh, set the bottle on the table, and folded her arms across her chest. She leaned forward until her forehead was resting on the cool surface of the wooden table, her eyes closed tightly. A yawn forced its way up her throat, and she lazily let it out, the sound seeming out of place in the quiet kitchen.

The urge to get up and move overwhelmed Kaede, and she reluctantly stood up from the table, padded into the living room, and stopped in the middle of the room. She looked around her, wondering why she was in there and what had drawn her to this room. As if by an invisible string, she was drawn to the couch. Further examination of the soft cushions brought on the discovery of a small, folded piece of pink paper.

Curious, Kaede settled herself on the couch and picked up the slip of paper. She carefully unfolded it and her eyes took in the leafed border. She traced the vines lining the outside of the paper and took in each little green leaf that sprouted from the vines.

Her gaze drifted to the handwriting at the top of the paper. _Kaede, _it read, in soft, almost graceful handwriting. She gasped—she knew that writing. It was Sasuke's.

The note read:

_Kaede,_

_I know how much it hurt you for me to leave in such an abrubt manner last night, but it couldn't be helped. The Hokage gave me a mission that needs to be completed as quickly and in as skillful a manner as possible. There's nothing I can do about it but finish everything. When I say everything, I do not just mean the mission._

_We have known each other for years, and I would not trade those days, minutes, memories for anything. You have given me something I didn't think I would every find—someone to care for and who wouldn't leave me alone again. That is why it kills me to do anything that would hurt you. _

_Last night, long after you were home and in bed, I left the Hokage's office. From there, I went stragiht to your house—_

Kaede thought how strange it was that he called it "her house" instead of "their house." She kept reading:

_From there, I went straight to your house to get what I needed. After collecting my things, I visited you while you were sleeping. You looked so beautiful, Kaede. My heart tugged to you, but I knew that there was nothing I could do. I couldn't fight the inevitable. This letter was all I left behind to remind you of me, and a photograph of the two of us. Believe me, it killed me to write this._

_This is goodbye, Kaede. There is no more "us." We are through. I know you will mourn, but I'm not coming back for you. No matter how long you wait, it will not happen. Go patch things up with your parents, get to know them, and get to know some other guy who might be able to give you what you deserve. I certainly cannot. _

_Goodbye, Kaede. I love you._

_S_

Disbelief and horror coursed through Kaede's mind as the realization of what the letter meant sank in. Signed with a simple "S," the note had sent her world spiralling into a never-ending vortex of despair and loss. Her heart wrenched and twisted in a fury of sadness as she fought back tears. How could Sasuke do this to her?

How would he know what she needed and what she didn't? How would he know if he wasn't coming back? He'd have to come back, right?

Kaede held the letter to her chest, gasping for breath, struggling to hold the tears at bay. This little piece of paper, this…this…horrifying note that was causing her so much pain was the last thing she had left of her Sasuke. But he couldn't be leaving her for good, could he? His letter had seemed so definite, the whole tone regretful and cold at the same time.

"Sasuke," she whispered, the soft, salty droplets slowly running down her cheeks to drip off her chin and onto her knees. Everything that she and Sasuke had stood for was gone, was destroyed. Everything they had created between each other was for nothing. Sure, he might not trade those moments for anything, but what about her? What was she supposed to do now? Her parents probably hated her, her life was in shatters, and the one person she knew she could depened on had left and betrayed her.

There was no way she could get through this, never.



A year later, Kaede walked into the lonely Uchiha house, leaving her shoes at the door as was her ritual. She strode through the empty living room, into the kitchen, and slumped on a chair. Her face was void of emotion, her eyes expressionless and blank hazel orbs. She hadn't the mood to take off her ANBU vest, even though it was rather warm inside and outside, and beads of sweat were forming on her forehead.

Impatiently, she brushed back the few strands of dark hair that were sticking to her face and tucked them behind her ears. After a heady training session, two scroll deliveries, and a stop by her parents' house, she was wiped out. But it was the good kind of tired, the kind she strived to never feel again, along with the hurt that a certain someone had brought her. She couldn't bring herself to think the name that would make all the pain surface again.

She pulled herself out of the chair, over to the fridge, and she peered curiously inside the cold, white box. Nothing very appetizing in there. She closed the fridge and headed to her bedroom where she took off her green vest and stripped herself of the rest of her ANBU clothes. In the bathroom, she turned on the water and waited for the tub to fill with hot water.

Once the water was up to her liking, Kaede slipped into the warm bath and sank into the water up to her neck, sighing. The hot liquid felt good on her sore muscles, and the steam seeping off the surface calmed her usually tortured and whirring mind. For days after finding his letter had she stayed inside the house, mourning and weeping like a weak, wounded child. But she had been somewhat like a child before realizing that he wasn't coming back, and that acting and being weak was not going to bring him back. There was nothing in her power she could do.

That was when she had come over with a new resolve, and a new goal—to become the strongest ninja out there, and become the Hokage when Tsunade retired. Which would be in a few years, she knew. The older kunoichi seemed to be tiring of her duties as the leader of the village. Since then, she had grown stronger, stricter, and more seperated from people in general. The few friends she managed to keep had given up on trying to make her the girl she'd once been.

So far, her only competition for the role of Hokage was Naruto, and they were both almost up to Sannin level. In fact, Tsunade had taken Kaede on to teach. But Kaede had no interest in being trained by the woman—as far as she was concerned, she had already been trained by a Sannin and remembered enough of that training to perform the jutsus she'd been taught, which no one other than herself and Orochimaru knew she could do.

Kaede found her eyes closing, but she forced them open. Last time she'd fallen asleep in the bathtub, Naruto had walked in on her after searching like a good, concerned friend should when she didn't show up for practice. There was no way she would risk the blonde ogling stupidly at her again.

She stood up out of the tub, grabbed her towel, and dried off. Wrapping the towel around herself, she walked into her bedroom and dug in her drawers for clothes, one hand clutching the towel tightly in place. Her hand surfaced with a pair of black shorts and a white t-shirt. Nodding in approval, Kaede dug for some underwear, pulled them on, and tugged on her shorts and shirt. Back into the bathroom she went to hang up her towel, and from there into the kitchen for a snack before an early bed.

Opening the cabinets one by one, she came up with two chocolate chip cookies, a glass of milk, and—her girly side couldn't always be resisted—a chick romance novel. For an hour that flew by quickly, Kaede nibbled at her cookies, sipped at her milk, and absorbed the pages of the novel.

Finally realizing how late she had stayed up—not really that late, considering it was only nine o'clock—Kaede tossed her glass and plate into the sink, marked her page in the book, and strode down the hall to her bedroom. Her warm bed was waiting for her, and she climbed gratefully under the covers.

As her head hit the pillow that she had shared with him so long ago, she let the sadness overwhelm her and the memories lull her to sleep.

* * *

**tear So sad, the last chapter. I know this story seems short, but the sequal will be up soon and will be loads longer. I promise!**

**Love you all!**

**Nicola**


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